Four Dragon's Conglomerate
by Winter Cheshire
Summary: [OC's Ahead!] The Four Dragon's Conglomerate, an organization that once held immense influence in the hero community. But now, things are changing. Will the Conglomerate be strong enough to endure its upcoming trials? Or will the group end up falling apart? Includes Tokoyami Fumikage and Eijirou Kirishima minor pairing with OCs as well as Shoto Todoroki minor pairing with OC.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The House of Dragons

* * *

It happened suddenly, almost too suddenly to realize they were in a lot of trouble. Tokoyami was down and out in an instant, something having restrained Dark Shadow. Todoroki was barely able to stay conscious, but he couldn't move and his power wouldn't manifest. Amajiki had been leading them to the building where their "client" was, seeing as Fatgum got called away on another mission and at the moment, Kirishima was on a joint mission with Tetsutetsu and another Pro.

"What the…?" Amajiki tried to move, but he was unable.

"What's going on…?" Todoroki asked, feeling his consciousness fading. The villains appeared from the darkness, having been waiting for an opportunity. Only now did they notice that they were cut up or bruised, somehow the damage having been done in that split second they were unaware of. How they didn't notice none of the boys knew, but this was really bad. All 3 were down on the ground, unable to move or fight back. But as the villains were about to attack, the atmosphere changed.

"You're irritating me…" a sudden blast of flame came up from underneath the villain closest to the boys, causing him to screech in immense pain. The flame burned bright white and yellow, almost like it was the sun. The woman who stepped out from behind the flames after they'd gone down was wearing a black face mask and a turtleneck. Her black leggings and ankle high boots blended in well with the shadow she emerged from. Over her turtleneck was a long sleeved jacket. "Picking on kids…" she waved her hand, a sudden burst of the same flame slammed into the remaining enemies. "More than that, I had to come out here with this stupid cough…" she turned her head into her elbow and coughed a couple of times. "I get so irritable when I'm sick… you picked a terrible day to attack these young heroes…" she whispered, pulling down her mask, a steam rising out from her mouth as she did so. Another burst of light came out from next to the girl, a small white and yellow round doll that resembled a dragon with minty green eyes appeared, its mouth spewing the same steam as the girl it floated next to. "Go have fun, Solus… Its been a while since we've gotten to burn out so many irritating ones, isn't it?" she asked, pulling the mask back up. The dragon gave a small roar, steam picking up into a billowing cloud as its eyes began to glow. The woman smiled as the little dragon went to attack once more as the enemies began trying to get back on their feet. She wandered across the battlefield to kneel next to the three young heroes that had gotten caught in the ambush. "Ahh, you're all beat up…" she ran her hand over the places they were injured, seeming to flinch as she did so. But the large damages seemed to heal up a little bit. "That was dangerous…" she said, patting the boy's head.

"… Senpai…?"

"Hehe, been a while since anyone's called me that, you know." She ruffled his hair. "Tama… I was worried about you. I'm sure you're going to make Ayumi-nee worry about you too, like this."

"… I'm sorry, Senpai…" he muttered, seeming to doze off. She let him fall asleep, turning to the other two on the ground. She sighed, a couple of smaller round dolls appearing at her side.

"Get them out of here." She whispered. The little ones began their task, the crowd of villains exploding behind them in bursts of white-hot flames. "Solus… its almost time." She stated simply, turning to glance over her shoulder as the little dragon floated his way back to her. "Oh, you're done early?" she asked, smiling behind her mask. "Then let's go… there's work to do." She stated. "Echo… contact the Principal of UA… I have something to discuss with him."

* * *

Todoroki opened his eyes to see that he was in an infirmary, glancing around to see who else was there. Tokoyami was laying unconscious in a nearby bed, wrapped up but no worse for ware. As for himself, Todoroki glanced down at his arm, seeing the minor cuts covered by bandages, but he too seemed not to be severely injured. But what transpired was kind of fuzzy. He was with Tokoyami and… Amajiki… he remembered turning to hit an enemy but suddenly he was unable to move. His legs failed him. His arms wouldn't move. Gravity? No, it was something else. "…overwhelming pressure." He remembered passing out, then hearing a voice as he tried to open his eyes. He caught a glimpse of blue hair, the voice saying it was okay. Saying that they were strong but still learning.

"It's okay… you're smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out quickly." She had said before he passed out again. He managed to sit up, glancing around again before hearing someone talking in the next room.

"Senpai, are you really okay?" Amajiki?

"I'm fin-" suddenly a long fit of coughing ensued, followed by a groan. "I really don't like this at all…" she muttered, the same voice as before. "I'm fine but it hurts and I'm all stuffy… getting sick is the worst…"

"Senpai, please get some rest if you're sick…"

"But I can't rest until I hear back from Nezu-san…" she grumbled, even in her voice you could hear the pout. After a couple more coughs, she sighed. "Plus I just put the tea on, I can't leave it like that and sleep…"

"Oi oi, I can get the tea…" he sighed at her, a door opening. "Come on, you want to check on them, don't you?"

"Hehe, Tama knows me so well." The two sets of footsteps came to the door and the door slid open, Todoroki's eyes going wide. That blue hair, black mask… he knew that person. "Ah, Shoto, you're awake." She said, walking over. He'd seen her on their mission log, the woman they were headed to see and keep an eye on for their remedial lesson. But more than that, she had made one prior appearance at UA, but not publically. Todoroki had seen her talking to Aizawa and Principal Nezu.

"You… know who I am…?"

"Ahh, that…" she smiled behind her mask. "I can explain later." She said, seeming a little uneasy. "For now, let's have some tea."

"… Tea?" he turned to see a kettle steaming, a couple of small round dolls with horns and wings milling around the cups.

"And let's not forget the snacks, Senpai."

"Yes yes, Tama." She replied, sitting down on a chair and sighing, coughing behind her mask. "Ayumi-nee and the others will be home soon." She added. "I still don't know why they insisted on guarding me, I can handle myself…"

"Ahaha, even if you say that, Senpai…" Amajiki seemed to know her well, maybe she was an alumni of the academy?

"It's cause you'd never sleep!" A voice came from the other side of the door, the sliding doors slamming open. "Rizu-nee! Go back to sleep!" The blackette with golden-orange eyes who stood at the door seemed to be very used to the situation, but also very easily flustered. She seemed a little rough around the edges, mildly athletic at a glance.

"We're home…" the shorter white haired girl who peeked into the room said with a smile. Her eyes were soft and sleepy, a light aqua color. "Ah, Tama-chi's here too… Good thing I bought plenty of snacks~"

"Minako-senpai! Emiko-senpai!"

"Tama! Make Rizu-nee go to sleep!" The blackette exclaimed. "You know she needs her rest when she's sick!"

"Now now, Minako…" the white haired girl pat the blackette's head, smiling before stuffing a cookie in her mouth. "Don't yell at Tama, he knows Rizu-nee won't listen to him."

"I-I wasn't trying to yell!" This was one heck of an environment to be in… Todoroki was still trying to grasp the situation.

"Welcome back you two. Isn't Ayumi-nee here?"

"She said she was bringing home more real food… Sent us back early…" The white haired girl pouted. "I wanted more snacks, though, I know you like snacks when you're sick Rizu-nee…"

"Yes yes, I'm sure you did…" she smiled. "Thank you, Emiko." She said, the girl's face lighting up at the thanks.

"I got you plenty of good things like lemon pudding though! And I even got those airy chocolates you like!" she stated, unpacking the abnormally stuffed bag of snacks on the girl's side table, the boys both surprised at how much there was.

"Ahaha, so much~ I can always count on you, Emiko~" she gave the girl a pat on the head. "And Mina, you know you can't be so angry at me… how can I sleep worrying about these three little heroes? One who's still asleep, the other two still recovering from whatever that villain's power was…"

"You didn't catch that one, then?"

"No, Solus only got the ones who were poised to attack… there was at least one in the shadows, stringing them along." Todoroki's eyes went wide. There had been one more? "I don't really know why it didn't affect me, maybe because I was wearing my mask and Solus was burning off whatever was around me… but whoever it was knew to go after them in an isolated area… it was planned ahead." Amajiki looked somewhat solemn about that. "They were looking to cause trouble… if I had come any later…" she gripped her hand into a fist.

"Rizu-nee~ Are you moping again~? I can feel it you know~" The voice came down the hall, Amajiki seeming to shiver.

"Ahh, that was fast…"

"I'm home~" A girl with dark purple hair and bright blue eyes walked up to the door, carrying bags of groceries on her arms. "Ahh, one's awake! And Tama, are you feeling better?" she asked, Tamaki's face coloring bright red when she suddenly walked right up next to him to check his temperature. "Hmm, a little warm…?"

"Ayumi-nee… he's warm because you're pushing your boobs in his face…" Emiko said, shrugging her shoulders. "He can't breathe…"

"Ahh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" she blushed, both pulling back.

"Alright alright, enough playing around… Ayumi-nee and Emiko please go put away the groceries and snacks… Minako stop worrying about me sleeping and go get the antibiotics so these young heroes don't catch what I have…"

"Yes, Rizu-nee!" the three girls seemed to listen to the bluenette as though she were their team leader or something, she held a lot of influence despite her weakened state. Todoroki watched the other three rush out of the room, Amajiki being pulled along by the girl named Ayumi, his face still red. Things calmed down enough for Todoroki to get a grasp on things. The 4 girls lived in the same house, but it seemed like because the bluenette girl was home alone most of the time for one reason or another they'd been called in to keep an eye on her? Or something to that effect, but she had a point… why did a girl like this, who saved them all from a near disastrous situation need protecting? Moreover the three girls who lived with her seemed not at all stunned or shocked at the boys suddenly having needed to stay in the house in a medical facility that they seemed to have well prepared for a situation like this… what kind of group were they?

"… So." The bluenette's words shook the boy from his thoughts, Todoroki turning to look at the bluenette. "I guess I should explain… how I know you… Todoroki, Shoto…"

"… That would help… but first I'd like an explanation of who you and those other three are, please…" he stated, making her eyes widen a little behind her glasses. But she chuckled, coughing a little afterwards.

"Alright." She nodded, looking back up at him. "Let's see… have you ever heard of the Four Dragon's Conglomerate?" she asked, Todoroki nodding.

"They are four families that have worked closely with one another for many years, since the rise of quirks." He replied. "Their main pillar family is the Ryugazaki, the leaders… then they have the healing and medicinal practitioners, the Tsubakawa… the support specialists, the Kujou… and then the Aihara, the ones who are fighting support and, in a way, controllers of the Ryugazaki incase their extreme power ever raises above their limit of control…"

"Very good." She smiled. "Those four families right now are represented most efficiently by the four girls that live in this house. Emiko is the Kujou's oldest daughter, but her older brother's quirk wasn't really on a level that would be sufficient to be useful in battle so he stepped down to let his sister take his place in the conglomerate's current ranks… Minako, despite her rough edges, is the Tsubakawa's best young medical practitioner. I asked her personally to step up above her four older sisters and become my pillar of medicine and healing. She knows well how to deal with many situations, and she doesn't flinch at injuries that would make most unable to stomach food for a day."

"Ah, that explains why she came in so strongly about you sleeping…" Todoroki replied, nodding his head.

"Yes, she's always had an issue with the way I handle my own health…"

"Anyone would if you're not well most of the time, though…" he added, making her chuckle.

"Anyway, to continue." She said, seeming a little uncomfortable with talk about her health the main subject. "Ayumi is the Aihara's only daughter. Her older brother is a businessman, so she has a very strong air about her and her family naturally. But she as a person is hard to go against, let alone with her quirk… so she makes for a wonderful means of restraint, should I ever lose control…"

"Lose… Ah, so you're the Ryugazaki of this generation?"

"… Yes. Rizusa Ryugazaki. Sadly, I was not the best for the job, but I was the only one born to this generation... no siblings to speak of… so I was told I had to be the one to take the Ryugazaki's post… I didn't mind, but… There would have been so many better people in the other families for this… this rigid way of life is no way for families to treat their children… Rigorous training that would break most people… used on young children barely adjusting to their quirks…" The words brought back memories to Todoroki of his own father and training that brought him to the brink. He felt kinship to this girl, knowing her training must have been harsh as well.

"… Well thank you… for explaining all that to me…"

"Not at all… you deserve to know that, its not like its private knowledge… however how I know you…" she sighed. "I don't know if you'd want to hear it."

"I would, please…" he bowed his head, Rizusa sighing before nodding slowly.

"It all begins… with Endeavor's annoying proposal for an arranged marriage."

* * *

((I know I have other stories but this series... THIS SERIES! ;; 7 ;;  
You can blame a friend of mine for getting me into this, I can't help it... I wanted to... had to write something...  
Please look forward to more... I have so many things to write now... it hurts...

-Winter Cheshire ))


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Requested

* * *

"An… arranged marriage…?" Shoto's eyes went wide. "He was planning that far ahead-?!"

"Ahh, hold on hold on." She said, sighing. "I heard before, that he was on a power-path to create a child who could defeat All Might… He was looking for future possibilities, I'm sure… However." She looked up at the boy. "He came to my grandparents with the idea years ago, but he was immediately shot down, scolded even… but he seemed to realize his mistake recently, and he came to apologize for ever suggesting it." She stated. "But that's why I know you so well… because he left all the information with us and insisted on sending updates as though to entice a reaction." She stated. "After he apologized, though… he still seemed like he was looking to get some sort of a meeting… then this came up, so…" she looked at the papers on the nearby desk, Todoroki seeing the symbol for U.A. on it, knowing that those must be the papers to certify the young heroes for their remedial lessons. "When I found out, I wanted to oppose but… I've been curious about you since I first heard of you… so I kind of wanted to see what sort of boy you were… I do apologize for bringing up something so unsightly…"

"… No, thank you for doing so…" Shoto felt almost relieved that his father had apologized and revoked the idea. Sure, he was uneasy, but at least it was no longer an issue, right?

"Anyway, we're going to keep that a secret, okay? I don't tell anyone about these arranged marriage proposals… so…"

"Of course. I won't say a word."

"Hehe… thanks, Shoto… ah, sorry its probably impolite of me to call you that…"

"It's fine… its my hero name too, so…" he averted his eyes a little. Despite all the things going on, he felt relaxed that this girl was able to ease that tension easily… That she knew when to get off of a subject.

* * *

"Where…?" Minako jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see the boy who had been unconscious until now sitting up in bed.

"Ah, please don't get up too quickly yet!" she stated, seeing his surprised expression. 'Uwaaa, he's kind of adorable when he's shocked…' she shook the thought quickly, rushing over to him and taking his temperature. "Mm, seems normal… just gotta make sure your vitals are good." To Tokoyami, it must have seemed like he was being fawned over, this girl was so thorough. "Pulse, good… blood pressure good… mm, then no ill effects…" she nodded when she was done examining, seeming satisfied.

"Pardon me… um…" Tokoyami's face was red from the sudden close interaction.

"Ah, pardon the closeness… My name is Minako, I was told to keep watch over you. Your client, Rizu—ah, Miss Ryugazaki said so, since you've been unconscious much longer than the other two… I'd assume its because of your quirk, its like double the dose to knock you out, so double the time to wake up." She stated.

"… Ah, I see… thank you…" he bowed his head. "But where am I…?"

"You're in Miss Ryugazaki's house." Minako replied, patting his head. "Here, drink this. It's a little bitter but it's a precaution since Miss Ryugazaki's still sick." She said, handing him a small cup. He did as he was instructed; with a moment of pause to get the medication down, but he sighed afterwards, seeming glad that was done quickly. "Are you hungry? Everyone else had lunch already but Miss Ryugazaki had us prepare a portion for you incase you woke up. I can go get it for you."

"Ah… thank you…" he replied, surprised that his client turned hostess would go through the trouble, but he supposed that was part of the description they were given. An overly caring woman who always looked after her juniors. A mother bear was how Aizawa-sensei described her. He'd heard a few times before that this woman could take apart a 10-on-1 assault by herself, even if not at full health. Her quirk wasn't well understood, but it was powerful. He watched as Minako went to get his food, wondering if the other two would make an appearance too. The Four Dragon's Conglomerate. He recognized the symbol on the wall scroll nearest to his bed as the same one that his parents had done business with before. The group was strong, they made a huge mark way back when quirks were first becoming a thing. The Ryugazaki was the Forward Guard, the Aihara was the Advisor, the Kujou was the Rear Guard, and the Tsubakawa was the Healer, to put it in the simplest of terms.

"Ah, he's awake…" A new voice caught his attention, looking up to see a girl with dark purple hair and bright blue eyes. "Ne ne, Tama, he's awake." She called into the hallway, immediately Amajiki and Todoroki both came rushing in.

"Thank goodness… we weren't sure how long you'd be under." Amajiki sighed. "If it had been much longer I would have had to call off the remedial lesson…"

"Eeeh, Tama no need to call off…" The purple haired girl pouted, causing the third year's face to color.

"Ayumi-senpai…"

"Ayumi-chan! Not senpai!" she grabbed his arm, making him blush more.

"Ah… would you happen to be the Ayumi Aihara who graduated from UA's general studies division two years ago?" Tokoyami had heard that this girl was incredible in terms of strategy, much like their own Midoriya.

"Eh, Yami's heard of me? Waah, am I famous? Ne Tama, am I?"

"A-ayumi-senpai, please… too close…" he replied as she clung to him, trying not to overreact but obviously putting it out there that he was embarrassed. He was surprised by their interaction though… did Amajiki perhaps like this girl? He wasn't too surprised, since her personality seemed much alike to that of Mirio, his best friend. Unwaivering brightness… almost an aura of sunlight, so it seemed.

"Ayumi. Stop harassing Tama, please…" At the next voice, Tokoyami realized he was grinning at his senpai's predicament and brought his face back down to monotone, looking at the door to see their client, Miss Ryugazaki, followed by a slightly panicked Minako and a white haired girl. "And Mina… I sanitized my hands and I'm wearing my mask… I'm not gonna infect your patient so please stop panicking…" she added, the white haired girl chuckling at Minako.

"B-but Miss Ryugazaki…"

"Mina-chi is silly~" the white haired girl chuckled. "Rizu-nee would never infect a student with her sicky germs, you know. She's smarter than that."

"Emiko, don't make fun of her."

"Ah, sorry Rizu-nee~" she smiled. "I can't help it though, she's too funny~"

"I know but come now… we have guests…" The bluenette who placed his food next to him had an air of power unlike anything he'd ever felt. It was like being washed over by a wave of warm water. However strong, her presence was soothing. "Tokoyami, Fumikage… I apologize for not showing up sooner… had I arrived a few moments earlier I might have prevented this from happening in the first place." She bowed her head.

"Waah, Rizu-nee is apologizing? So rare~"

"Emiko, shh." Minako seemed to know better, that this was part of what the Ryugazaki's job was as well. Taking the brunt of the blame.

"No, not at all… Whatever or whoever attacked us knew our weaknesses and prepared for it… Thank you for coming to our aid, even though its supposed to be our job to protect you, Ryugazaki-san." Tokoyami bowed his head.

"Eeeh, Yami-chi's a good boy too, huh? Hehe, Rizu-nee always attracts those types though."

"Emiko, shh!" Minako gave the girl a swift chop to the head, making her pout.

"Alright enough goofing off. Let's let Tokoyami-kun eat in peace… Minako, keep an eye on him… his vitals may be good but he was out much longer than Shoto or Tama so I want to make sure he's alright before we allow them to continue with their remedial lesson."

"Yes, ma'am…"

"… Mina…"

"Yes?"

"What did I say about calling me ma'am?" her glasses caught the light just as she looked up, causing the whole room to flinch. A menacing look, considering she was sickly.

"I-I'm sorry, Miss Ryugazaki!" she bowed her head, Emiko trying not to laugh. But this group was almost comedic, the way they acted around one another. But it was nice to ease the tension amongst those who'd been attacked.

* * *

It was late at night when Rizusa heard someone knock on her door. She reached for her mask, putting it on before turning to the door. "Come in." The door slid open a little, Emiko standing there with a solemn look on her face. "… What's up, Emi?"

"… Sorry to bug you, Rizu-nee…" the girl wandered in and sat herself down on Rizusa's bedside. "I know you should be resting, but…"

"But you're obviously bothered… what is it?" Rizusa pet the girl's head. "Is your quirk acting up? Or are you having nightmares again?" she asked, Emiko sniffling a little.

"I… I saw it again… the scary thing that came after me…" she rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Build Interface wasn't fast enough and I couldn't defend myself… I was alone and I thought I was gonna die…" she sniffled, Rizusa pulling the girl into a hug as she started to cry. "Rizu-nee… it was scary…" she sobbed, the bluenette feeling awful because the "scary thing" only attacked Emiko because she was with Rizusa in the conglomerate to begin with… That man… no, that monster… 1000 blades, Gin. Emiko had been trying to up her quirk's skills alone, Rizusa was visiting her family and both Ayumi and Minako were training elsewhere… Gin busted into the house and almost killed Emiko, but she'd been saved by a Pro Hero. Unfortunately, it took a toll on her personality. She acted childish because it made her feel safe. Rizusa knew though, that had that not happened she'd probably be very mature by now.

"I'm sorry, Emiko…" she said softly, knowing tears or promises she probably couldn't keep were of no use. "… We'll both get stronger… that way your fear can be put to rest…" she rubbed Emiko's back, hoping she would calm down soon. "You need to go back to bed, you know…"

"I… I know…" Emiko pouted. "Rizu-nee should be more comforting… then you'd be an even greater best big sister ever!"

"I'm not though…" she sighed, shaking her head.

"But then you'd probably be able to find a cute boy too!"

"O-oi oi what kind of things are you thinking about? Go back to bed, you weirdo." She shooed her friend to get back to bed, the girl grinning a little. "Geez, despite acting like a kid, she's still a woman inside I guess? Or maybe she's just being a pushy kid…" Rizusa laughed a little, soon going into a small coughing fit. "Owww… Alright time to go to sleep…"

* * *

Rizusa woke up the next morning to hear some ruckus in the main hall, straining to sit up, looking around and realizing she must have overslept. She went to wash up and walked into the main hall, eyes wide to see someone she didn't recognize. Red hair, spiked up really tall and hardly dressed. "Um…"

"Ah, Rizu-nee, good morning!" Ayumi grinned. "Kirishima-kun, this is Rizu-nee. The owner of the house and the official client for the request!"

"… Kirishima…?" she blinked. "Ah, you're the other one they said was coming later?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "Nice to meet you…" she bowed her head. "I'm sorry you didn't have more time to rest, after a mission with a pro you had to come right here…"

"Nah its okay, sis!" he grinned. At this Rizusa froze.

"… Sis…?" she covered her face, hiding in the corner.

"Ah… that's her weakness you know, Kiri-chi." Emiko grinned.

"Hah?! W-weakness?!"

"She's always wanted to be a big sister to a bunch of brothers, so whenever a younger boy calls her sis she gets all happy happy~" Emiko chuckled. "Neeee, Rizu-nee~?"

"H-h-he called me Sis…" she was leaning against the wall, trying to keep her composure.

"Haha, Rizu-nee's funny~" Emiko grinned.

"Oi oi, stop embarrassing her, she'll end up getting worse." Minako sighed, chopping the girl over the head.

"Owwww…"

"Miss Ryugazaki, please get yourself together." Minako stated. "And take your morning medication since you're here… You always forget unless I make you take it… Please don't slack treatment because there are guests."

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to slack…" she turned around and went to the kitchen to take her medication as Ayumi sat with the boys and Emiko to discuss their job.

"So essentially, you're just here to make sure she doesn't go wild… you didn't see it the first night, but when she calls out her assistants, the little dolls, for battle combat situations, she gets massive headaches and exhausts her physical limit to the point where she can hardly move. If she goes too long when she's sick she'll basically collapse." Ayumi said cheerfully, all the boys pausing.

"That's not normal…" Eijirou said with surprise.

"Sounds like a hassle for her…" Tokoyami nodded.

"Normally when she's healthy, its easier to handle." Emiko said, swinging her legs over the side of the couch. "But when she gets sick like this, it makes her weaker and weaker… its bad for her… but she insists on patrolling herself, she never lets us join her… so…"

"So we're here to help patrol so she can rest, but also so if she does run into villains, she can have a group to rely on." Todoroki replied. Amajiki was surprised at how fast they realized what they had to do. "That's fine, we're here for about a week…"

"And after that, depending on her condition, we'll decide whether she should come back to the UA with the rest of the girls or stay here if she gets better." Amajiki stated simply.

"Hehe, Tama's so straightforward." Ayumi smiled, petting his head, making him shiver. "But that's right… if she's not well we all want her to go to the UA where it'll be safer. If we have to follow, we will. But Rizu-nee's health has been wavering more and more recently, we don't want to see her collapse."

"Rizu-nee spent so many years protecting us… so if nothing else, we wanna protect her…" Emiko said softly, looking put out. "At least this one time…"

"This one time…?"

"Rizu-nee was the only strong one… out of all of us, whenever something happened wrongly, she always fought for us to make it right…" Ayumi smiled. "So… please… be our strength and help us help our big sister…" She began to cry, Tamaki immediately trying to calm her down, the three younger boys all turning to look at each other, nodding.

"As heroes…"

"When a lady asks for help in such a heart-tugging manner…"

"We have no right to refuse."

"We'd be glad to help." They all said in unison, Emiko and Ayumi smiling and thanking them, Ayumi still crying a little but Tamaki soon calmed her down enough.

* * *

((And Chapter 2~ I might post one more before I go to work tomorrow but for now I need to rest my eyes... x  
Thanks for the read~ Look forward to more as always~

-Winter Cheshire))


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Wander the Streets

* * *

9:00 : Patrol 1

"Uguuu…" This was the umpteenth time the girl had groaned today and it wasn't even 10 minutes into the patrol. Granted they'd all been up since about 7 trying to get things straight about who was going first on patrol with their sickly client.

"Are you really okay to be out patrolling like this?" Kirishima asked. "You really should just go back and sleep…"

"I'm fine…" she coughed a few times into her mask as they walked down the sidewalks together, catching people's attention, but mostly they were just focused on Kirishima and not as much on Rizusa, since she normally stalked the streets alone.

"You're not though…" Kirishima sighed. Each one of them had to go on a solo patrol with her, just to gauge her health. Even just an hour and a half with each would be enough, so Ayumi had said. She put up a front, but if she forgot someone was with her for too long she'd show her exhaustion. "Its no wonder everyone's worried about you, Sis…"

"S-sis…" she hid her face in her hands as she walked.

"Ah, sorry sorry." He grinned. "But if you were really my sister I'd make you go home… seriously, pushing your body like this is super bad for you. You need to rest." This made Rizusa pause for a minute, catching Kirishima's attention. She turned to him, looking a little sad.

"…Is it really so bad…?"

"Its pretty bad… you sound terrible, I'm sure your regular voice is much more commanding, like a real big sis!" he grinned, Rizusa hiding her face again.

"K-kirishima-kun is very kind…" she couldn't help but be happy.

* * *

11:00 : Patrol 2

"Dark Shadow seems like a very useful quirk." She said with a smile behind her mask. Tokoyami nodded, seeming to enjoy his patrol with the woman. She was showing him good spots to use his quirk should he need to during his stay.

"Its regretful that I didn't get to see your quirk in action, Rizusa-san… I've heard that Dragon Doll is a really incredible technique despite its drawbacks…" they wandered past many shops and stores full of people and children staring out the window, looking wide eyes at them.

"Hehe, thank you… it is unfortunately though, full of drawbacks that most people cannot normally handle… most people would be bedridden I think, with the sicknesses that follow its combat uses."

"But doesn't that mean you should get better faster so you can use it without becoming bedridden after?"

"… You too, huh?" she sighed. "I know I should but… I can't… I can't risk anyone's safety just because I want to rest." This struck a chord with Tokoyami. Her dedication was impressive. But why run herself down like this? Surely none of the girls at the house said anything to that effect.

"… I don't think anyone else would see it that way. You'll run yourself into the ground with no rest."

"… Mm… That's what Minako says too… but I'm used to being the lone defender so…" she shrugged. "I guess… I'm not used to resting. It feels odd to me…"

"… I see." He didn't know what to say to that. But if that's how she felt, he assumed her life must've been very rough, full of things that she had to figure out and conquer alone. "Then let's continue… perhaps soon you'll be able to rest, at least a little." He added, pacing to walk ahead just a smidge, making Rizusa smile. This was a brave one indeed.

* * *

13:00 : Patrol 3

Amajiki walked with Rizusa, hardly saying a thing about the mission itself and more focused on catching up with her because Rizusa wouldn't let him interview her like the last two. But eventually she came around to the subject herself, since she knew him better than any of the other three. "Tama, do I seem pathetic or something…? To have two juniors worrying about me…" she muttered.

"Senpai, anyone would be worried… you look like you're going to collapse…" He replied with a sigh. "You're coughing all the time, your eyes have bags under them and they're puffy… you all around look sick, so of course anyone would notice…"

"… So I look pathetic…"

"No, senpai!" he exclaimed, sighing. "You're just not feeling well, so it reads in your face… please just go back to the house and get some sleep… You really do look exhausted; all this sunlight must be hard on your eyes. And you're obviously getting dehydrated too…"

"… Tama."

"Yes, Senpai?"

"Let me ask you something."

"Of course."

"Do you still have a crush on Ayumi?"

"H-hah?!" his face turned bright red and he stepped back from her in shock.

"Ah, you do…" she chuckled. "Good good. You'll make a good husband… your level of concern is high and you're good at explaining things. Ayumi needs that."

"S-senpai stop trying to change the subject!" he stated, trying to regain his composure but it was no use. Rizusa had overheard him talking to Mirio about Ayumi just before they graduated, but she'd never told them she'd heard. She had all sorts of things to tease him about, it was easier to get him to stop talking about her when Ayumi was a part of the conversation, but if it was just for patrol, she could handle on her own. But Tamaki's heart was sincere… Rizusa knew that Ayumi teased him because she liked him too. But she wouldn't interfere, just teasing her under classman a little about his crush would be a useful escape mechanism for the girl.

* * *

15:00 : Patrol 4

"Rizusa-san…"

"Yes, Shoto?"

"Why are you buying ice cream if you're sick?" He asked her.

"I like ice cream."

"But you're sick."

"I can handle it in small portions…" she pouted behind her mask. "Besides its not really ice cream… it's a popsicle." She added, paying the vendor and opening the treat, removing her mask. "Do you want one? I'll buy."

"No, I'm fine." He replied, still surprised as to how she could eat something cold when she was sick like that. They walked down the sidewalk together, still patrolling. "Is it really a patrol if you stop to snack?"

"Normally I don't but…" she smiled as she paused in her eating. "This time of year crime is low during the day… so low in fact that it's almost non-existent. It's less of a patrol and more of a scouting situation to see where crimes could occur later at night. For example." She stopped, looking across the street to a small storefront. "That store, that woman closing is in a rush to leave right?" Todoroki nodded as he watched the woman frantically cleaning up. "Say she forgets to lock something… haste has a potential for slip ups and thus a location where the night patrol might occur." She continued to walk. "I'll give you all a list of what I saw on all the patrols, but I want you to keep anything you see in mind as well." She added. "The police come fast but the criminals all have quirks in this town. Even provisionally or on remedial lessons, if you're working for or with the Four Dragon's Conglomerate, you're allowed to use your quirks if needed." She stated.

"What…? Really?"

"Yes, because of that we don't require a pro to be present from any agency. So long as a Dragon is present on Patrol its fine."

"But the point is to get you to rest…" Todoroki muttered, sighing. "I'm sure you're worried but I think any of the others would be perfectly capable of patrolling too… you really should just get some rest…" he added, hoping that he'd be able to convince her unlike the other three. "Rizusa-san is always looking after the other three, right?" he asked, causing her to pause and turn to him. "But they want to make sure you're not working too hard… so why not just rest… even just for tonight?" he asked.

"… Eeeh… persistent, huh?" she chuckled. "We'll see." She replied as they continued on their patrol for the night. Todoroki was relieved at least to get that much. At least she hadn't refused outright. "Maybe if you can pin me once, then I might consider you and the others to be able to go on patrol without me-" she turned, feeling something and immediately blocked a palm-thrust, but ending up backed up against a wall, staring face to face against that head of half white half red hair, one grey and one bright turquoise eye. "Hoh…. You took me very seriously just now, didn't you?" she asked, realizing he had her pinned against a small back alley wall. "Hehe… well you got me there, I guess." She lifted her arm as he backed off, reaching to pet his head. He seemed surprised, but he didn't pull away. "Good job, Shoto. You pass that first hurdle." She grinned behind her mask. "Now, let's get back soon. Gotta test the other three before I can let you go out on patrol." She headed back towards the house, Shoto staring after her for a moment. He looked at his hand, then back up at her. She could have easily knocked him off… summoned a doll… why hadn't she? Was she too tired? Caught off guard? No, she'd let him...? Why?

* * *

Once they finished their practice matches, everyone passed, able to pin Rizusa without her using Dragon Doll, even though she was weak and not trying too hard, she said that was all it would take to knock a criminal out here so she didn't mind letting them go out. But soon after she fell asleep in her room. "I'll stay and keep an eye on her." Minako stated as Ayumi was in the kitchen preparing dinner. "Emiko? Do you want to go with them, or did you want Ayumi to go?" she asked, the little white-haired girl jumping at the mention of a patrol and shaking her head.

"I-i-I have to go submit plans to the agency!" she rushed away to hide in her room, Minako sighing at her. The boys all looked confused.

"Minako-senpai, what was that…?" Amajiki asked.

"Sorry, Emiko's been… skittish recently. There were reports that… He's back…" she whispered, Amajiki's hair bristling.

"No… 1000 blades is…?"

"So it was said. No one's been able to confirm but she's super on edge right now…" Minako shook her head, the three younger boys wanting to ask, but seeming reluctant with how Emiko reacted. "1000 Blades, Gin… the monster that tore up countless people… Emiko was lucky to escape with her life." Minako said to the others, since Amajiki knew already. "Just before Emiko went to UA as a support division student, she was getting used to living here with Miss Ryugazaki and the rest of us… Ayumi and I were away on errands and Miss Ryugazaki was visiting family when…" Minako took a breath to steady herself. "Gin broke in and attacked her…" she whispered. "He sliced her up really bad, she was so scared when we brought her to that if Ayumi hadn't been using her Quirk she might have hurt herself more."

"Before…?" Kirishima was still too shocked to say much else.

"She was a victim of the Monster of 10,000 cuts…" Shoto muttered.

"No wonder she's scared to patrol…" Tokoyami nodded his head.

"She's since taken security into her own hands with her quirk, Build Interface, but… to leave the house without Rizusa of her family's escort is unheard of for her." Minako added. "My quirk is no good against villains in a solo-fight so I don't go on evening patrols myself…" she sighed. "Status Check is usually only useful in large scale battles or if you're expecting a long fight… its good for knowing when to pull back and when to go in for a hit that can help end a fight but that's about all…" she looked solemn.

"That may be true, but you're a good combatant anyway, Mina~" Ayumi walked over with a smile, wiping her hands on a towel. "You're the only one of us in the house who can get in close enough to hit Rizu-nee at full health."

"Ayumi…"

"Anyway, food's done~ If you boys wanna go for it, please do." She smiled. Minako stood up and went to chat with Ayumi about going on patrol. Ayumi insisted that she could watch Rizusa for a night, and let Minako out for some air. "You're fine, Mina… Rizu-nee wouldn't have chosen you if you couldn't handle yourself." She chuckled. "She knows you're capable. Just for one night, go on a patrol. Ne? I can keep Rizu-nee safe for that long at least."

"… Thank you, Ayumi…"

"No thanks, go eat some good food." She pouted. "That can be your thanks to me. I'm being a good house-wife after all."

"Pff, hahaha! Okay okay." She pet Ayumi's head. "I'll go eat. Thanks, Ayumi." She went to get her food as well. Once they all had their portions, Ayumi took some to Emiko's room and then took some soup to Rizusa.

"Ah, you're up."

"Just for a moment…" she replied as Ayumi closed the door. "Ayumi… you convinced Minako to patrol?"

"Well more than that…" she chuckled, placing the soup down on the side table. "I think these boys are good for convincing her that she can't fall behind." She smiled. "Plus, you're the convincing force behind my conviction, Rizu-nee." She added. "A strong leader with a big heart. Who could ask for more~?"

"Haha, very funny." She coughed a little. "But… thank you, Ayumi."

"You're welcome. Now eat. You can sleep after." She added, headed towards the door again. Rizusa stared at her as she left, then turned to the window and sighed.

"… I see… perhaps it was good, then…" she smiled a little. "That I fell ill this time… something good may come of it yet."

* * *

((And last chapter for now, maybe more to come in a few days? I'm really active for some reason, maybe its because of the...  
INFLUENZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anyway, thanks for reading. Reviews are nice too. ;; u ;;  
-Winter Cheshire))


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 : Goal

* * *

Rizusa was sitting on the couch, trying to wait patiently for the boys to return home with Minako. "Rizu-nee, you should sleep." Ayumi said, Emiko having passed out already. "It's almost midnight… they'll be home soon, won't they?" she asked, placing a cup of tea on the table next to her housemate.

"… I know…" she muttered, Ayumi smiling at Rizusa's lack of words.

"Ahh, always the mother bear, aren't you?" she chuckled. "Alright, don't forget your last dose of meds before Minako gets mad." She added, heading to her room. Rizusa just continued to sit there… by 1am she couldn't stand it anymore, getting up to go look for them. But as she was about to open the door, she heard someone on the step, the door lock clicking open. She backed up from the door silently, staring as they all walked back in, unharmed.

"Welcome back…"

"Ah, Miss Ryugazaki… You should be resting, you know…" Minako sighed.

"Sorry, there was this really big water spout coming from the ground so we had to go around when the crews said they were fine taking care of it themselves." Kirishima grinned. "Were you worried, Sis?"

"… S-sis…" Rizusa hid her face again, the boys all seeming mildly amused. She was much more personable without that mask on.

"Miss Ryugazaki, is there a reason you're still up?" Minako asked, seeming a little worried. Sure, Rizusa worried about others but it seemed to be something else weighing heavily on her mind, not just their late arrival home.

"I'll go to sleep in a minute… I have something to tell you first."

"Alright." The boys all went off to their room, Minako staying with Rizusa to chat.

* * *

"What do you think they're discussing?" Kirishima asked.

"What does it matter? Its probably about Rizusa-san's health isn't it? Maybe her ailments have lessened, since she wasn't wearing her mask." Todoroki pointed out.

"That may be true… or perhaps she wants to know if Minako-san saw something else she keeps an eye out for? I'm sure they've been on patrol together so she must know better than we do all the spots Rizusa-san looks out for." Tokoyami added.

"It doesn't matter. Everyone get to sleep. Rizusa-san is going to give you all a training session tomorrow for your quirks against her own." Amajiki stated, wrapping himself up for bed. "You'll need all your strength for a fight against her."

"Ooh, we get to see her quirk?!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"I don't know whether or not she'll be using Dragon Doll to its full extent." Amajiki replied. "But if she does, then more so you should be resting so you can be ready." He added.

"G'night then!"

"Goodnight."

"Good night…"

* * *

The following morning, Shoto and the others woke up, smelling breakfast being made. They all got up, got dressed, and headed into the main room to see Ayumi, Minako, and Emiko all at the table. But where was Rizusa? "Ah, good you're all awake. Rizu-nee is just about done making breakfast."

"Senpai is…?" Amajiki's eyes seemed to light up.

"Hehe, yep. Rizu-nee insisted on it." Ayumi added, seeming a little muted compared to normal.

"Is she healthy enough for that?" Shoto asked, seeming to wonder if the sickly woman was really alright to be making food.

"Ehehe, she's using a Dragon Doll to control whatever sickness she has. It'll make her tired but she was well enough to remove the mask yesterday, she's not contagious or anything." Emiko smiled. Curious, the boys peeked into the kitchen, eyes widening to see 5 or 6 small round dolls flying around. One sat on Rizusa's shoulder, that must've been the one regulating her sickness. It was the same one that had helped her save the boys that first night, Solus. The 2 that were on the counter seemed to be fire and water based. The fire one on command would blow a puff of flame that caught the bottom of the pan, creating a sizzling sound. The water one seemed to be poised to regulate that temperature in case it got too high. The others were all fetching ingredients for her. The doll on her shoulder nudged her cheek, causing her to turn and see the boys. "Ah, good morning." She smiled, all the boys' eyes going wide. She was wearing an apron, hidden from the back by her long hair that was left down. Her black leggings and sweater completed her look flawlessly. "I hope you all don't mind… I thought a heartier breakfast would be good before we get to training."

"What are you making, sis? It smells good!" Kirisihima exclaimed.

"Do you need any help?" Shoto asked her.

"Rizusa-san, how much are you making?" Tokoyami asked, noting all the dishes already on the opposite counter that were cooling down. Not only that, there were no other dishes aside from the pan she was using and the chopsticks and spatula that sat on the side.

"S-senpai…" Amajiki seemed to look stunned and really happy all at once.

"Hmm, if you boys want you can get started. The omelet rolls are the last of the food so go ahead and start taking." She added. She plated the roll and got started on another, the boys lining up and starting to take their food. Ayumi and Minako came in next, Emiko trailing behind a moment later. They all took their food, realizing that Rizusa had left the kitchen.

"Where'd she go?" Kirishima asked.

"Ah, probably took her soup and went to eat in her room." Ayumi smiled. "She doesn't eat much for breakfast, usually just some soup and rice or something like that." She nodded. "Plus, she's contemplating her training with you four. Its entirely her responsibility while you're here to keep your lessons running and all that."

"Even though she's sick…?" Shoto questioned.

"Yes, even then." They all went back to the table to sit and eat. "Rizusa-nee may not look it, but as soon as she graduated she got inundated with requests for being the sidekick of various heroes all over." Ayumi began to explain, Minako coming in with a tea pot and pouring some tea for them all. "I mean she was getting plenty in her first and second year too but when she was on the market it was insane… The sheer number of paper letters was enough to turn into charcoal to cook over, so she said."

"That's a lot of paper…"

"So did she choose any of them to work with…?" Tokoyami asked.

"No." Emiko smiled. "She rejected them all."

"All!?" Kirishima exclaimed.

"Yep, every last one." Minako jumped in. "When we asked her why, she just shrugged it off. "None of them are seeing the drawbacks, only what they want to see… that's what she told us."

"So what did she do?"

"She registered as a remedial lesson teacher with the UA and sequestered herself here in this house… this is where she said she would start changing the face of the Four Dragon's Conglomerate." Ayumi looked up from her food. "Because Rizusa-nee doesn't want to inherit the Ryugazaki name until she's properly made it her own."

"So… she's technically not a hero…?"

"She's registered and all, don't get me wrong." Ayumi smiled. "But Rizu-nee doesn't think she's a hero… She'll jump to someone's aid in a heartbeat, and she'll fight off any villain that comes knocking… but she's not convinced herself that she's a hero."

"How can she be certified though, if she herself doesn't think she is one?" Shoto questioned.  
And she didn't graduate from the hero course, either…"

"Mama saw the requirements as tests, is all." All of them nodded, pausing and jumping away from the sudden voice, a small purple dragon with light blue eyes sitting on the couch and eating some of the untouched foods.

"Who are you?!" the boys all asked.

"Ah, Noire. Did you come out to get some breakfast?" Ayumi asked, offering the little one a piece of omelet on her chopsticks. Noire jumped, grabbing the omelet and landing on the table, wings flapping. "Noire was Rizu-nee's first dragon doll. He's the only one who can come out on his own and talk to others without Rizusa granting permission."

"He… can come out on his own?"

"It's a little like Dark Shadow, he has a personality of sorts on his own." Minako added, the little dragon finishing his food. "But he's less of a comrade in arms in that sense and more of a child. And a proud one at that."

"Mama always stresses out so I'm here ta explain some stuff for her." Noire puffed himself up a little. "That way there's less to teach."

"Huh…?"

"Noire, is that okay? Won't Rizu-nee get mad?" Ayumi asked.

"Nah, she'll be fine! Mama doesn't mind when I explain things for her!" he added, seeming very proud. Ayumi smiled, nodding and sitting back in her chair. "Mama knows she's not really a hero yet. She won't count herself as such till she has surpassed her teacher's goal for her!"

"A goal…?" Shoto asked, the little one nodding his head.

"Mama's Teacher's Goal for her… Is to conquer the Dragon Doll's Ten Pillars of Awakening!"

"Oh?"

"What are those?"

"They sound pretty cool…"

"There are 10 pillars, all of them are Dragon Dolls that come in certain times of trial to the user! If you can convince the dragon to work with you, you "conquer it"!" Noire exclaimed, jumping up a little. "On top of that, Mama's got a whole bunch of others helpin' out, too!"

"The Dragon Doll Quirk is a hereditary quirk that only some members of the Ryugazaki inherit. The last person to inherit it properly was her Grandfather." Ayumi added. "Right now Rizu-nee has about 100 Dolls in her arsenal, and has also properly conquered 7 Dragon Pillars, and the 8th is being worked on."

"7 pillars at the age of 18, an unheard-of feat! She only has 3 to go, that's Mama for you!" Noire nodded his head, spewing some steam proudly puffing out his chest. "These pillars are grand trials like some sort of big boss! Mama will conquer them all!"

"Haha, Noire-chan really loves Rizu-nee and believes in her all the way." Emiko chuckled. As Noire went on explaining, Shoto began to think. 10 pillars… she already had 7, wondering what they could do he wanted to see if he could fight them. More than that, he wanted to see which of them she would use when put against someone like himself.

"Oh… I see…" he stated, the others turning to him. "She hasn't conquered all 10, and until she does she won't see herself as worthy of being called a hero."

"Hehe, that's one part at least." Ayumi nodded. "But that's all we have time for… I think she's ready to start your training." Noire jumped up, climbing up on Ayumi's head. The door opened down the hall and he jumped up, flapping his wings. In walked Rizusa, wearing all black again, but her outfit was accented with small things that changed the look from her normal appearance she used for wandering the streets. "All geared up in support items and everything, huh Rizu-nee?"

"Mama you look cool!" Noire exclaimed, jumping over to her and flapping his wings, landing on her shoulder. "Can I fight too, Mama? Can I can I?"

"… That depends. Did you do like I asked?" she asked.

"Yes, Mama!"

"Mm, I'll consider it then." She pet the dragon doll's head, smiling. "If you boys are ready." She looked up, smiling. "Shall we get to training?"

* * *

((A short one for now, hopefully I get motivated to write those training fight scenes really soon.

-Winter Cheshire))


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Limitations

* * *

Rizusa showed them to a training room with solid, strong walls. "Is it really alright for us to fight in a room like this?" Shoto asked. Rizusa nodded simply.

"Don't worry about the room, Todoroki-kun." Ayumi smiled. "Emiko designed this room herself, and its meant to take intense temperature change, all sorts of attacks, and all that good stuff~" she added. "But I don't think we're dealing with those first…? At least that's not what it seems like…" she muttered, glancing at Rizusa as Noire went to sit on the side, pouting.

"Test 1 is how well you can hold back against an opponent being controlled by the enemy." She stated. "More accurately, without seriously injuring the civilian, please find a way to take them down." She added, turning to look at the boys. "No use of quirks unless its for defense. Any harm done through your quirks will be considered an attack… that's how the media sees it so you must subdue without harm." She tightened her hair clip and turned to them. "Now, would you like to go one at a time? Or shall we start with one-on-one combat?" she asked.

"I'll go first." Amajiki stated, though a bit reluctantly. "To thank you for breakfast, Senpai…"

"Hehe, thank you Tama." She said, the other three boys going to sit on the side. Ayumi went on the side, taking a small device from her pocket.

"Ready~? Start~!" She grinned, a clock lighting up on the wall, Amajiki immediately defending himself, the boys confused for a moment until they realized that Rizusa had closed the gap, kicking the boy back hard enough to cause him to slide a few meters back despite having braced for the kick.

"Oh, good you're getting better. Last time I knocked you off your feet on the first go, Tama…" Rizusa landed, glancing up to see Amajiki still standing there. "Mm, good to be cautious." She nodded, grinning a little as steam started to pour from her mouth. "Namia… come." A dragon doll appeared at her side, its turquoise skin and bright blue eyes "You remember Tama?" The little doll nodded, steam spewing from her mouth. "Good. Go." She stated, Namia flinging herself at Amajiki with crazy speed, the young hero managing to keep up with her attacks but when Rizusa closed in again he got knocked off his feet. This continued until the clock hit 5 minutes. "Hmm, almost, Tama." Rizusa helped him up and pat his shoulder. "Had I not called Namia, you might've won. Good job. I'd give that a 45 since you got close." She said, Amajiki nodding before going to sit down. "Next?"

"Oh, me me!" Kirishima jumped up, grinning. "I wanna try, Sis!"

"Oh? Alright, Kirishima-kun." Namia vanished, leaving Rizusa alone on the field. As he pumped himself up, Emiko began swinging her legs.

"Kiri-chi, good luck." Emiko grinned.

"Thanks!" he rushed onto the field, grinning. "Ready, sis!"

"Eeeh… Alright, Kirishima-kun." Rizusa nodded, glancing to Ayumi.

"Ready? Start!" she exclaimed, then immediately talking to Amajiki after and telling him he did fine considering the circumstances, Amajiki just leaning away when she got too close, his face red. Rizusa was amused, Kirishima's attacks not really phasing her as they sparred. When he reached to restrain, he got himself tossed over her shoulder or kicked out of range. The whole 5 minutes consisted of this until the last second when he almost managed to grab her by the shoulder to pin her. But then time ran out.

"Not a bad first try, Kirishima-kun." Rizusa said when he let go, patting his head. "Strong indeed. I'm impressed. I'm sure in full combat training you'll do very well." She nodded her head. "But this exercise… unfortunately you get a 0." Kirishima almost fell down at hearing that, dragging himself back to the benches. Emiko comforted him by giving him some cookies, patting his back and saying he's not suited for subduing and he's much more suited to beating up baddies. Tokoyami got up next, and his training went much as Amajiki's had, it was very close but not close enough to say he passed. By the time he was done, Rizusa had summoned two small dragon dolls to help her. "Very good, Tokoyami-kun… 40." she ended their training and sent him to sit down, glancing at her last opponent. "Ahh, last one, huh…?" she sighed, redoing her hair again and taking a deep breath. "This is the one I've been looking forward to…"

"Oooh, Rizu-nee's pumped." Ayumi smiled, grinning. "Todoroki-kun, you're gonna be facing a pumped up Rizu-nee. Be prepared. She might go a lot harder on you than the other three since you were able to get her that one time."

"… Got it." He replied, heading onto the field. But when he got onto the field, he stared at Rizusa. "This room is too small…" he added, Ayumi calling for the match to start. And almost immediately the whole room froze over. "…?" he glanced around, not seeing Rizusa.

"That's dangerous, Shoto." She said from behind him, shocking him as he turned to attack her, only to get pinned down himself, restrained by what looked like another color of ice. He noted a small white and blue dragon sitting on Rizusa's shoulder. "And that would've been a very dangerous way to restrain a civilian." She added. Another blast of Shoto's ice shot up at her, pushing her off. "Mm, that's how we're playing it? Fine." She replied, the little ice dragon fading away as Solus came out to play, steam now billowing out from Rizusa's mouth. 'He seems to be taking it into consideration, but…' she thought as she dodged the attacks. "He's still fighting at full strength… reminds me of Endeavor-san…" she muttered, dodging again, jumping straight into Todoroki's waiting trap. "Shi-!" the ice shot up around her and boxed her in Solus getting separated from her. "Oh… I see, cutting me off from Solus…" she nodded, smiling. "That's what he was planning… Mmm…" she turned to where Solus was trying to melt the ice, sighing. "I guess that's all, huh?" she asked, Solus fading and Rizusa sitting down, waiting for Todoroki to get her out. When he melted her out, she smiled. "Impressive. Boxing me in." she nodded. "You pass. Though it was a little dangerous, you still pass." She stated simply. "Good job, Shoto. 35. You pass."

"Good job, now let's have a short break, reset the field, and Rizu-nee can get to stage 2 of training." Emiko said, nodding her head, getting up from her chair and going to tinker with the field, Shoto helping her by melting the ice. But strangely, when they were done, Rizusa had disappeared.

"Stage 2, Rescue training!" Ayumi cheered, grinning. "With Emiko and Minako as your enemies along with a bunch of Dragon Dolls, how will you fare at saving Rizu-nee?!"

"I really don't like this though…" Rizusa sighed, sitting in her "cell", to await being rescued. "Why am I the one being saved?" she asked, pouting as she sat there. Ayumi was doing the announcing from the observation area so they could go all out, Emiko and Minako were ready to fight in support gear and their quirks raring to go. "I do well as a villain too…"

"You're too mothering, Rizu-nee." Emiko grinned. "You go easy on em."

"… Eeeh…"

"It's regrettable but true, Miss Ryugazaki." Minako added, nodding her head. "Now, please. Sit back and let us fight."

"… Fine." Rizusa sighed. She didn't like sitting around but if that was what they thought, she supposed it was true. She could never get serious against kids like this… she just sat and ate some cookies, waiting for someone to rescue her. She watched the fight from a monitor in the cell, courtesy of Emiko, keeping an eye on the battle as it went on and on… These kids held their own against Build Interface, and Status Check made sure to know when a full-frontal assault was coming so they could defend… How would they overcome the obstacle that was the two support pillars of the Four Dragon Conglomerate working together? But then she noticed that they'd started helping one another. Todoroki kept the dolls at bay with the ice and flames, then Amajiki was charging at the girls to keep their attention diverted. Tokoyami was helping them push the two older girls back, and Kirishima was preventing them from regrouping. "Oh…" she smiled, biting into a cookie. "I see." Minako got caught first, leaving Emiko fending off 3 enemies herself. She was soon captured and restrained. The dolls couldn't keep up and faded away, leaving the four boys able to start looking for Rizusa. And a few minutes later, the cell door opened.

"Rizusa-san." Shoto offered his hand to her.

"Heh… impressive, boys." She took his hand, getting up and leaving the cell. "Test complete… You all pass." She stated, nodding her head. By now it was almost lunch time, so Ayumi went to make them some food and the boys went to clean themselves up. Emiko was pouting, swinging her legs as she sat at the table.

"You got beat, huh Emi?" Minako asked, the white haired girl making a face at her. "Don't do that, your face will get frozen." The taller girl sighed, shaking her head as Emiko kept making the face.

"I wasn't able to make a good invention to fight them… gotta try again." She muttered, Minako chuckling to herself. The girl's fire had been stoked. She was serious now. "Gotta make a better weapon too…" She mumbled, taking notes in a small notebook to improve the inventions she'd made on the battle field today.

* * *

That evening, after everyone had returned from patrol and gone to sleep, Rizusa was busy in a call. "Principal, you took too long getting back to me."

"Sorry sorry, Ryugazaki-chan." Nezu chuckled. "Is training going well? How is it all?"

"Test 1, Disarm and capture… Todoroki 35, Tokoyami 40, Amajiki 45… Kirishima 0." She sipped her tea. "Test 2, rescue group… collectively they scored an average of 59.7… impressive, considering that they've never worked together in a group… they did well." She replied. "Test 3, Disaster save all the victims… They all scored decently, around the 40's range… they took quite a while figuring out how to save Emiko since she was in a precarious position… Kirishima figured it out best I think. But all the same it took a while to get her out. Had she been injured she'd have died…" she sighed. "And then there's Test 4-"

"Well aside from the testing though." Rizusa looked up at the screen. "What do you think of them, as a former student of UA."

"… They're good kids, sir." She replied. "I believe that they will be good heroes." She nodded, smiling.

"Oh good good." He nodded. "And what about you? Are you still sick? Do you need to take us up on that housing offer so you can properly rest up? It'll be like you're a student again~ You can live in the new dorms, whichever dorm you like~"

"… Sir, is that wise?" she asked.

"It's what your grandfather said he'd prefer should you ever fall seriously ill." Nezu sipped his own tea, making Rizusa look down at her cup. "And you have been over and over in the past few months. You don't need to choose immediately but I would like your answer by the time the students come back. You need to figure out if you and the other girls are in serious danger or not, especially with what's been happening in your prefecture."

"… Yes, sir." She replied. They cut the conversation and Rizusa gripped her wrist, feeling it shaking. The rise in villain activity had been staggering recently, it was true. And even on the nights it wasn't high, it was as though disaster was around every corner. Rizusa took a deep breath, settling her nerves. "UA, huh…?" she asked, staring at her hand. "… Students… geez, Principal Nezu still knows how to hit a point home…" she rubbed the back of her head, the clip that normally held it up sitting on her desk.

"Are we going, Rizu-nee?" Ayumi asked, having been standing at the door, smiling at her contemplation. Rizusa turned to her, seeing her ever smiling face. "I'd really like to see what the new dorms at the UA are like…" she grinned. "Plus, I know that the danger's worse than you let on, considering what injuries you came home with those couple of times." She added, waving a finger at her friend.

"… We shall see soon, Ayumi." Rizusa replied. "Now go back to sleep… we have other things to worry about. There are still 3 more days of them being here…" she added. "If I fully recover by the last day, we will stay." She added. Ayumi nodded, heading back to her room without another word. "3 days…" she stared at her hand, feeling it throb. "… Hah, I'm kidding myself." She muttered, shaking her head. "No way… I want to but there's no way…" she shook her head more vigorously. "1000 Blades, Gin… you've been playing this game for years… why choose to come back now?" she asked, pulling back her sleeve to reveal a large scar running down her arm. "Marking the Four Pillars of the Conglomerate… what sort of game are you trying to play?" she asked. "Hurting us… scaring us… why? What did we do…? Or more accurately what did our predecessors do?" she muttered, sighing. "So frustrating." She grumbled. "Its like he's been waiting for this chance…" she felt a doll materialize on her shoulder, nuzzling against her cheek.

"Mama you should sleep. Its late." Noire said, nuzzling her cheek still. "Sleep is good~ Sleep makes Mama less cranky~" he cheered, making her chuckle at him.

"Alright alright. Come on, you go to sleep too." She got up from her chair and headed for her room. But this monster that had been eating at her for this long… the demons that she kept hidden… It was all bubbling up at once now, wasn't it? There was nothing else to do though… she had to figure things out. She had 3 more days. Despite always trying to be strong, she knew figuring out this would end up being a really troublesome matter. Especially since one of her pillars was already severely impaired by the monster's attacks. Emiko was the most visibly scarred of all four girls, thanks to that attack Gin had mounted. Would Rizusa's power be enough to help her friend? Would she be ready? She settled into her bed and stared at the ceiling. "3 days…"

* * *

The following morning was rather cloudy and the boys all woke up to see Ayumi, Minako, and Emiko sitting in the main room, watching a monitor. "Oh, what's going on?" Amajiki asked, walking over. "Ah… is she…?"

"Yes, she's fighting really hard." Ayumi smiled, though she seemed a little concerned. Her brow furrowed in an uncharacteristic manner.

"How long has she been awake?" Amajiki asked as the other three took peek over their shoulders, seeing Rizusa on the screen, fighting against a huge amount of dragon dolls and looking haggard.

"The equipment log says she was up since about 4am…" Emiko muttered, swinging her legs. "Rizu-nee said she felt better… so she wanted to train… I guess she's really into it or something…" she muttered, the boys shocked at how much she could do, even against her own quirk. She knew where to strike, when to strike, and how to avoid the maximum damage. She was fighting hard, even if it was just training.

"Does she push herself like this a lot?" Shoto asked, Minako turning to him.

"No… I don't know what she's doing this for, but something must have really fired her up." She replied. "I haven't seen her this determined since she made the declaration to change the face of the Conglomerate…" she looked back at the screen as Rizusa knocked two more dragon dolls out of the arena.

"… Mama…" Noire, who was sitting with Ayumi looked concerned. "Be careful…"

"Should we stop her?" Tokoyami asked.

"No… if she's pushing herself its because she feels she has to…" Minako stated. "Whatever her reason, she's thought it through and this seems like the only logical answer…" They continued to watch for a while, soon Rizusa nearly collapsing from overuse of her quirk, Minako rushing out of her seat to go and administer medication to the girl for the intense migraine that Ayumi explained as the after effect of over using her quirk.

"You pushed yourself too hard." Minako muttered as she gave Rizusa her medication. But the girl just sat there, exhausted and grinning.

"Sorry to worry you, Minako… but if this is all I can do… I'm in no way shape or form ready to call myself the leader of the Four Dragons…" she muttered. After whispering something else, Minako nodded.

"I'll make sure the other two know, then." She stated. "In the mean time, let's get you something to eat and back to bed. You need to rest after using Dragon Doll so much. We'll give the boys a short break today and then we can continue tomorrow once you're recovered."

"Yes, please…" she replied, the blackette sighing at her "leader's" recklessness.

'At least she trusts us enough now to go all out like this…' Minako thought as she prepared to carry her friend back to her room.

* * *

((Here, another chapter~ Maybe if I continue to have motivation I'll keep updating once a week or so? Ahaha at least for a little bit.

For now though, its cold I'm going to take a nap and then maybe binge watch some episodes of Boku no Hero again. Hope you all like it so far~ Look forward to more~

-Winter Cheshire))


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Memories Shared

* * *

"Alright, Rizu-nee went and worked too hard so you boys have a break today. If you wanna train or leave the house, feel free." Ayumi said cheerfully. "Just make sure that you're home by dinner so we can figure out patrols, okay?" They all agreed, Emiko heading to her room to build more things. Ayumi and Minako looked at each other, then at the boys as they all headed off to the training room.

"They're really hard workers, aren't they?" Minako smiled.

"Yes, they are." Ayumi chuckled. "But that's fine, right?"

"I suppose."

"What are you gonna do today, Minako?" Ayumi asked.

"I was just going to stay here and watch the training." Minako replied, sighing. "And make sure Rizusa doesn't try and get up without someone to help her… can't have her wandering with a migraine." She sipped at her tea. "And what are you going to do, Ayumi?"

"Mmm I dunno… maybe I'll make some baked goods?" she asked, tilting her head. "Or maybe I'll try my hand at making some street food?" she tilted her head. "I know he likes clams, so we'll have some of that today too~"

"You really love to make food, huh?"

"Mm, yeah~" Ayumi grinned. "With my eyes on a boy like Tama, I gotta love making food." She added cheerfully, Minako smiling at the older girl's honesty. She never said it to Amajiki, but when they were talking about their UA days, Ayumi always somehow got back on Amajiki. Always. It was always something like he's really shy but that's why he's cute, or something like Tama loves food so I wanna make him something good when I see him next time.

"Ayumi… you really like Amajiki-kun, don't you?" Minako asked, Ayumi grinning wider.

"If I could, I'd ask him to marry me." She said, cheeks bright pink. "But Tama's too shy I think I'd break him if I asked him that right off the bat."

"… What sparked that, Ayumi? Why do you like him so much?" Minako had always been a little curious. Ayumi never talked about boys or her preferences when Emiko brought it up. But she seemed so devoted to Amajiki.

"Why, huh…?" Ayumi leaned back in her seat, staring at the ceiling. "Well… there's plenty of things, but… I'd say it started because…"

* * *

 _Flashback - Ayumi's 2nd year at UA_

"Ayumi. Come on, we're late." Rizusa said, her hair tied back as they headed for the cafeteria.

"I'm coming Rizu-nee~!" Ayumi rushed after her friend, trying to hurry. But on their way, someone turned the corner opposite them and the two collided together, ending up with Ayumi on top. "Owww…" she looked down, eyes wide. "Ah, sorry!" she exclaimed, blushing a little because the boy she'd landed on looked like he'd whacked his head. "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?!"

"Tamaki?!" a blonde boy rushed over, pausing to see the situation before helping the girl and then his friend up. Once they were sure the blackette hadn't hit his head too hard, the blonde turned to Ayumi. "Nice to meet you, senpai! My name's Mirio Togata!" he offered his hand, Ayumi smiling and shaking it before the blonde turned to the blackette she'd run into. "Tamaki, introduce yourself." He whispered, nudging his friend. But he didn't seem to notice.

"Your knee…" he muttered, noting that her knee was scratched. "I'm sorry, senpai…"

"Hehe, its okay. You weren't doing it on purpose." She reached up and pet his head, his face coloring from the sudden closeness of the upper classman. "You're both good boys, ne?"

"Well since he won't introduce himself, his name's Tamaki Amajiki. We're both from the hero course." Mirio said cheerfully.

"Miri and Tama… hehe, nice names, too~" she smiled. "And no worries about my knee. I get scraped up all the time~ I'm a little clumsy so…" she added with another pat to both of their heads. "My name's Ayumi Aihara, from the General Studies class. And I'm glad to have two cute kouhai like you two." She gave them both a quick hug. "Now I gotta run and meet my friend, but I look forward to seeing your performances in the Sports Festival~ I'll be watching~" she winked at them before hurrying off, Mirio waving casually as his friend stood frozen.

* * *

A few days later, while Mirio and Tamaki were taking a break, one of their classmates that had resigned thanks to an injury came rushing over. "Guys, guys!" he exclaimed, pulling out his phone. "My brother in the second year just recorded this, you gotta see it!" they gathered around the phone and watched, wide eyed as they realized what they were watching. A pair of girls from the hero course took first and second in a martial arts competition? "Quirks weren't allowed, but their fights were so fast, their opponents had no chance."

"Hey, isn't that girl…?" The 2nd place winner had dark purple hair and a big smile on her face. "That's the senpai that you ran into in the hallway!" Mirio exclaimed to Tamaki, his face paling and his forehead hitting the desk.

"She's scary strong, too? She's too bright, I can't look at her." He muttered.

"They're cousins, or something I think." One girl piped up. "They act like sisters, I hear you put them together on the battle field and they can't be beat."

"Oh I've heard of them! The blue beauty, Rizusa Ryugazaki-senpai, who hides a dragon's fury behind a pretty face! And then the princess of the Four Dragons, Ayumi Aihara-senpai!"

"What kind of names are those?"

"I think if you called Ryugazaki-senpai that she'd throw a fit…"

"Really?"

"Hey, Tamaki?" Mirio pat his friend's back. "You're really in deep, huh?" his friend's face tinted pink at the question. Mirio grinned, knowing his friend had already fallen for Ayumi after running into her in the hallway. This reputation just made him more convinced, that Princess was an impossible goal. But still, he couldn't help himself.

* * *

"Rizusa-senpai! Ayumi-senpai!" Mirio exclaimed, Tamaki freezing in place as his friend casually called out to the girls from the year above them.

"Oh, Miri~!" Ayumi cheered, waving and rushing over. Rizusa followed slowly, taking in the two underclassmen's appearance. "Rizu-nee, these are those two cute kouhai I told you about~!" she seemed so excited to introduce them.

"Its nice to meet you both." She replied, bowing her head a little. "I'm sorry if Ayumi causes you trouble or disrupts your studies."

"Aww, Rizu-nee that's not nice…" she pouted, the bluenette turning to her and whacking her on the top of the head. "Oww!"

"You run off in the middle of free period classes instead of studying, you constantly go looking to watch their training in the hero course, your grades are dropping." She stated concisely, the smiley girl rubbing the back of her neck nervously. But she still was getting chopped over the head. "You're already making your own grades worse, don't bother the under classmen." She added.

"Ah, um…" Tamaki wanted to say something, Rizusa turning to him and as if by some silent understanding, stopped karate chopping her friend over the top of her head. "… It's nice to have a senpai critique us so its not a lot of trouble…" Ayumi and Rizusa both stared wide eyed at his statement, Ayumi looking super happy that he'd said that. "Though hurting her own grades isn't good, she's really good at martial arts so she's a real help sometimes…"

"Tama, you're such a good boy~!" Ayumi exclaimed, jumping at him and giving him a hug, Rizusa's chuckling a little at the interaction, seeing Amajiki's face go blank. Had he fainted?

"Well alright, I'm glad she's helping at least and not just ogling you guys for being in the hero course." Rizusa nodded her head.

"I don't ogle, Rizu-nee." Ayumi pouted, clinging to Amajiki still. "I just think the hero course students are really cool… like you, Rizu-nee. I still don't know why you won't transfer into the hero course… You've had offers from agencies and stuff too…"

"I don't have the aptitude to be a hero… so long as my quirk gets registered, then I don't care." Rizusa replied. "My future is with the conglomerate… I don't have time to fantasize about being a hero." She added, Ayumi looking a little sad to hear her friend say that.

"You're in general studies, but you're an even better martial artist than Ayumi-senpai, right?" Mirio grinned at her. "Even if you won't be a hero, you're still getting scouted. I heard your quirk is really amazing, too."

"That's kind of you to say, Mirio-kun… yes, I'm getting scouted but they know its useless for me to intern for long. As the Ryugazaki's only child, I have to take over the family business out of high school." She added. "I'm resigned to it, anyway… Ayumi just likes trying to convince me I need to do something more "meaningful" with my life after we graduate."

"Haha, that just means she thinks highly of you, doesn't it? I think its admirable you're taking over though." He nodded, Ayumi still pouting. "But you could have either future, I think… Or both, if you wanted."

"Both…?" she asked.

"Well, I heard the Four Dragon's Conglomerate is kinda like a hero agency, but its just more business formal, right? Its' like… a security firm or something, which rides along the lines of a hero agency." He added, Ayumi nodding her head. "So maybe Ayumi-senpai is just speaking in the sense that if you're a registered hero you could still work for the conglomerate, but just be more available to help others out too?"

"… Haha, you're perceptive, aren't you?" Rizusa said, patting Mirio's head. "That's exactly what Ayumi thinks I should do."

"But you're stubborn." Ayumi continued to pout.

"I'm stubborn because even if that's what you think, the others won't agree… the family leaders are set on me continuing as the Ryugazaki's leader. I am the only one who can uphold the main pillar of the conglomerate, and I will do so." She added. "Now, enough talk about family business. Ayumi, I think you killed Tama… He hasn't moved for a while."

"What, no!" she exclaimed, turning to see a lifeless Amajiki. "Ahh, Tama! I'm sorry Tama!" she exclaimed, Mirio grinning and Rizusa shaking her head with a small smile. "Rizu-nee, how do I fix Tama?!"

 _Flashback End_

* * *

"So because he defended you from Rizusa-san?" Minako asked, smiling. That was so like Ayumi. But it was cute, she'd been so taken with him for such a small reason.

"That's just one of many. Tama's already really cute and he's the kind of boy who doesn't say much but when he's passionate he speaks loads~" she grinned. "Like when I took him and Miri to takoyaki one day with Rizu-nee, he was happy. And then we took them to okonomiyaki too~ He loves good food so I gotta get even better at cooking to make sure that I can make all his favorites~!"

"… Geez, Ayumi… you're really devoted…"

"Hehe, is it scary? Rizu-nee said don't be obsessive, but I can't stop myself~ Cause one day I wanna be able to see Tama smiling really bright, and that'll mean I did something good~" Minako smiled at her friend. As simple as it was, Ayumi never stopped when it came to her goals. If her goal was to make Tamaki Amajiki smile, then she'd work at it until she did it.

"Well you'd better get to making that food you promised, right?"

"Yeah~! Let me know how their training is going, Minako~" she got up and hurried into the kitchen to start making all the food she could.

* * *

Meanwhile in training, Amajiki was trying to focus on his training, but his mind kept going straight back to Ayumi. She was always teasing him and trying to get him to smile, he knew that. But she was so bright, so cheerful… he couldn't handle it. Ayumi was always grinning or smiling, he couldn't tell if she was putting up a front or just like that all the time. She always made good food, though Rizusa was by far a better cook… He remembered one day when Rizusa had to go home early and left her bento with Ayumi, the first time he'd tried Ayumi's cooking.

* * *

 _Flashback - Ayumi's 3rd year at UA_

Tamaki and Mirio were about to sit and eat when they realized Ayumi was sitting alone at a table, pouting. "Senpai?" Tamaki walked over, seeing Ayumi looking a little depressed. She had two bento in front of her. "What's wrong? Did you bring your own lunch?"

"Rizu-nee and I tested a recipe last night… She said we should bring it for lunch, but she had to go home sick last period because she started feeling nauseous. Now I have two bento and no one to eat with…" she muttered, pouting more.

"Is she alright?" Mirio asked as they sat with her, Ayumi shaking her head.

"I think she's been working too hard… she's been getting weaker and weaker every day for about a week… I think her body finally gave up and she got sick." She added. "Anyway though, of all days… We made the food special and everything." She added, sighing.

"Well you don't want it to go to waste…" Tamaki looked at the bento as Ayumi opened hers up. "… It looks good."

"Do you want to try? You and Miri can both have some." Ayumi said, smiling a little weakly. "I dunno if its any good but Rizu-nee has been teaching me to cook…"

"Oh, so Rizusa-senpai knows how to cook already?" Mirio asked, taking a little bit of everything from what would have been Rizusa's lunch.

"Yeah, Rizu-nee's been cooking for herself since middle school… She learned from her grandparents, so her food's super good." Ayumi said, grinning. "We've lived together since we started coming to UA, her food is so good. But she's usually busy so she doesn't get the time to cook a lot anymore so I asked her to teach me… that way we can split cooking duties."

"That's impressive…" Tamaki also took some of everything from the bento, trying it. "These are pretty good…" he said, smiling. "They have a homey feel to them… you can tell they're home made…"

"Hehe, is that a compliment or an insult?" Ayumi asked, Tamaki immediately panicking a little, thinking she'd taken it the wrong way. "Haha, I'm kidding I'm kidding." She began to eat her own bento. "Rizu-nee's stuff is way better though… I've got a lot to learn still."

"Even so, its good considering you're not as experienced." Mirio nodded, eating his portion before getting to his own food, Tamaki doing the same.

"Thanks for letting us try it, Ayumi-senpai." Tamaki added after he finished the rest of the bento, Ayumi nodding and seeming glad that the food she'd worked hard on hadn't gone to waste.

"Hehe, maybe next time Rizu-nee will make lunch and you guys can try."

"Do you guys always bring lunch?"

"No, only once a month when we have our cooking lesson. Sometimes if I flub the recipe myself, Rizu-nee steps in and makes it right." She chuckled. "I mean, Lunch Rush makes super good food, don't get me wrong… but Rizu-nee says knowing how to cook for yourself is essential once we're out of school… so she makes me learn things that I can make on a regular basis and makes sure they're good so she can be sure that if I ever have to cook for anyone else that I won't poison them or anything."

"Poison…?" Tamaki asked.

"Were you that bad at it before?" Mirio asked with a smile, Tamaki looking horrified that his friend asked so bluntly.

"You wouldn't believe how terrible a cook I used to be." Ayumi laughed it off, Tamaki sighing in relief. "I burned almost everything, or I charred the outside and the inside ended up mushy and inedible. I think I almost killed Rizu-nee the first time I made dinner for her."

"… Poor Rizusa-senpai…"

"But that's why she's so invested in me learning how to cook!" Ayumi exclaimed. "She says its part of living away from family. Gotta learn to survive, can't rely on fast food all the time."

"That's a good rule to live by." Mirio nodded.

"Rizu-nee's got all sorts of good rules. She's like… a house wife." Ayumi grinned. "Now if only she didn't act so scary, maybe she'd be 100% house wife material."

"… I think that would be terrifying." Amajiki muttered, both Mirio and Ayumi laughing at the comment.

 _Flashback End_

* * *

Tamaki sighed, looking at his hand and then at the clock, noting that he still had a while to train before lunch time. He got up from where he was reminiscing, stretching before he prepared himself to start sparring with Kirishima, who had just finished stretching and was ready for a fight. 'I wonder what Ayumi-senpai is making for lunch…' he thought, excited by the thought of the upcoming meal prepared by the senpai he'd come to adore so much.

"Quit daydreamin' about Ayumi-san and come spar with me, Sun Eater!" Kirishima grinned, making Tamaki's face color.

"Sh-shut up, I am not day dreaming…" he grumbled, pulling his hood down over his face to hide his embarrassment.

* * *

((Another chapter... Ahaha, I just really wanted to do some flashbacks of Ayumi and Tamaki I guess.  
Anyway, will try to update weekly, thanks you guys for taking the time to read and if you review, you have my gratitude.

-Winter Cheshire))


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Safe Haven

* * *

That evening for patrol, Ayumi insisted on being the one to go with the boys, Emiko and Minako both looking concerned. "Are you sure?" Minako kept asking.

"Minako, I'm fine… it's just patrol…" Ayumi said cheerfully, the blackette seeming unconvinced. "Besides, so long as the boys are there we'll be fine, ne?" she added. "I promise I'll be careful. You gotta keep Rizu-nee medicated so she can sleep. There's only 2 more days for the lessons, right?"

"… Alright." Minako sighed, Emiko seeming surprised.

"I'll be back soon." She added, smiling. "Emiko, you're gonna help Minako, right?"

"Y-yes, Ayu-chi…" she muttered, seeming a little down. "Be safe."

"We will be." Ayumi pat Emiko's head, smiling more. "Come along, boys." She stated, heading out the door with the 4 students following closely. Tamaki walked next to Ayumi as Tokoyami and Kirishima walked out front, with Todoroki watching their backs. As they patrolled, there was nothing noticeable to note. It was quiet.

"It's not normally this peaceful at night, huh?"

"No, I think when Rizu-nee attacked those villains, she did a real number on them so anyone else might be scared to come out incase she leaves the house." Ayumi replied. "All the villains in the area are terrified of Rizu-nee, especially when she gets irritable. Anyone who tries anything either isn't from around here or hasn't come up against her in a fight." She added. "Like those guys from the other night…"

"So they weren't familiar, then?"

"Not that I could tell… but Rizu-nee said they might've just been new and cocky…" she nodded in thought. "If she hadn't been sick, she wouldn't have needed Solus." She added. "So she would've just given em a real beating."

"… Sounds like Rizusa-senpai alright…" Tamaki nodded.

"She's good at martial arts?" Todoroki asked.

"Hehe, she may not look it, but in our second year at UA, we took first and second in the martial arts quirkless brawl." Ayumi grinned. "Rizu-nee took first. She's said before, physical ability is important. She keeps a good balance, leaning on one or the other when she has to, though."

"Oh, I see…"

"She just doesn't seem the type." Kirishima said. "I mean sure, she's good at dodging but…"

"Hehe, well when she's recovered tomorrow maybe she'll give you a taste of her real skill." Ayumi grinned. "If not, I'll do it." She added. "I may come in second to Rizu-nee, but I think I'm capable enough to take you on, Kirishima-kun~"

"Oh, sounds like a challenge!" they seemed fairly cheerful the rest of the patrol, talking about both training for the next two days and Ayumi recanting tales of her school days with Rizusa. Despite always seeming to fall in second to Rizusa, Ayumi didn't mind at all. Her "big sister" was always admirable and Ayumi looked up to her like an idol. Her cooking, her martial arts, the amount of requests she'd gotten from Hero Agencies. Even her sense of devotion to the family, Ayumi saw as incredible.

* * *

 _Flashback - Rizusa and Ayumi age 4_

"Mama? Where are we going?" Ayumi asked, the princess haircut and cute clothes made her seem like a little doll. Her mother looked down at her as they walked.

"We're going to meet your new friend."

"A new friend…? Papa, who's my new friend?" she turned to her father, the man seeming almost nervous about it. "… Papa?"

"Ah, sorry…" he turned to his daughter, his wife looking a little concerned as well. "Do you remember that really big house down the street?" he asked. "The one with the big gate?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "We're going there? There's someone who's gonna be my friend there?" she asked, looking excited. "Who, Papa, who?"

"Ahaha, just be patient. We're almost there." Ayumi didn't really get the feeling of apprehension her parents had. She was too excited. They arrived at the gates and were let in, the gate closing behind them quickly. They were lead up a path into the compound, stopping at a courtyard. Ayumi stared, wide eyed but she didn't move. The girl that stood before her was her age, but she seemed so… different. She didn't smile, she didn't even move aside from a slight bow of her head. "Ryugazaki-sama… This is our daughter, Ayumi…" her father introduced her. Ryugazaki? This was the "main family" her parents always talked about…

"Thank you for bringing her." The little girl replied, an old man standing a ways away under an awning. She fidgeted with her sleeves, seeming to not know what to do now, and Ayumi noticed. Her parents seemed scared of this girl, but Ayumi didn't care. She broke away from her father's side, causing both her parents to reach out to grab her back, but Ayumi ran across the courtyard and hugged onto the little girl.

"You're really cute!" Ayumi exclaimed, the little bluenette's eyes wide and face coloring pink from the sudden contact. "We're gonna be great friends!"

"A-ayumi, that's-!"

"Its alright." The old man stated, walking over and patting both Ayumi's and Rizusa's heads. "You're the first one to run up to her like that." He told Ayumi. "You'll be an excellent representative for your family."

"Mister, are you the cute girl's pappy?" Ayumi asked, her parents both at a loss for words.

"Yes, I am." He replied, nodding his head. "Rizusa. Are you going to say hello properly?"

"Y-yes, Ojii-sama." She replied immediately, bowing to Ayumi. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you… my name is Rizusa Ryugazaki."

"Ne ne, can I call you Rizu-nee?"

"H-huh…?"

"You're gonna be like my big sis, right?" she smiled. "So I wanna call you Rizu-nee!"

"U-uh… O-okay...?"

* * *

 _Ayumi and Rizusa, Age 12_

"Rizu-nee~!" Rizusa turned to see Ayumi rushing her way, almost tripping on her own shoes but catching herself just in time. They were in middle school now, both girls having become very close and attending all their grades in the same class. But the day before the new term, Rizusa had been given an ultimatum by her grandfather. You have less than 2 weeks to pick the representatives from the other two pillar families. "They're both gonna come to your house right? The other 2 pillar families and their kids."

"Yes… this afternoon, once we get home from school…" she replied. "… I hear that the Tsubakawa has 5 children in the running… and then the Kujou has two …" she added. "The 5 girls from the Tsubakawa are all sisters, all are supposedly going to medical school or a precursor school to get in."

"Oooh, sounds intense… I hope they're not all sticks in the mud… and the Kujou?"

"I hear it's a brother and sister… the brother's a year older than us, and the daughter a year younger…" Rizusa sighed. "Ojii-sama's putting so much pressure… To make a decision so fast… I don't know them well enough, how can I work with them if I don't know them?"

"You'll be okay, Rizu-nee." Ayumi pat her friend's back. "I know you will be."

"… You have so much confidence in me, Ayumi…"

"Of course! My big sister is amazing!"

* * *

After the meeting, with too much arguing amongst the Tsubakawa family, Rizusa had send both families home. "If you can't even sit quietly for 5 minutes amongst yourselves, how can you expect to work with me?" Rizusa had said. It had been a week and instead of them coming to the Ryugazaki household, Rizusa would go visit them in their homes. See for herself which one she'd want to work with over a period of a few days. She would return home every night to think.

First was the Tsubakawa, amongst 5 sisters she had to choose. In order of age it was Yuna (21), Aki (19), Hina (19), Rui (17), and Minako (11). Yuna was automatically out of the running in Rizusa's opinion, the girl was too much in a seat of power because she was older. That went for Aki and Hina as well. Rizusa didn't like the way they talked to her or fawned over her. Rui was alright, but she seemed busy learning things for medical school, it wasn't a good time for her. So before Rizusa even entered that house, she'd made her choice. Not just because of circumstance, though. Looking at all of their middle school entrance exams, Minako's stood out as the highest. Not because of the number, either. Because of the time. She put in every possible second of the exam, turning it in after looking over her answers many times, so Rizusa had been told. And despite her quirk being a supposedly less useful one, Rizusa found that it would probably suit her job the best. So even though she spent the time and gave the older girls the benefit of the doubt, sticking it out for 3 days, she had long since made her choice. The quietly competing youngest sister, Minako was her choice. "I think you'd be the best choice." She had said to Minako, offering her hand. "So… will you become my pillar of healing, Minako?"

"Y-yes!" the quick, earnest response solidified Rizusa's resolve to have this girl be the Tsubakawa representative.

* * *

When it came to the Kujou, Rizusa didn't know who to choose. Thankfully though, the siblings were much more civil and had made the decision for her. They made the announcement after dinner. "Please accept my little sister as your pillar of support, Ryugazaki-sama." The older brother, Kiyoto, had stepped aside to allow his little sister with a better suited quirk to take the post. His parents were shocked but they accepted it easily. They were happy, since they only had 2 children who were old enough to be selected.

"… Gladly." Rizusa nodded, Emiko looking up in shock. "I think you'll make a wonderful pillar of support, Emiko…"

"Th-th-thank you, Ryugazaki-sama!"

"… You know… you can call me Rizusa… I really don't like being called Ryugazaki-sama…" she sighed, having been under much pressure recently from her grandfather, and starting middle school at the time too, it was getting to her. "That's my grandfather's title… please… for my sanity, stop calling me Ryugazaki-sama… just Rizusa is fine…"

"Y-y-y-yes, Rizusa-sama!"

"… Close enough for now…" she smiled a little. "My first task for you is to stop calling me -sama by the end of the semester…"

"Y-yes!"

"Ahaha, aren't you lucky, Emiko? To get to call your leader by her first name." Her mother smiled, patting her daughter's head to ease her nerves.

 _Flashback End_

* * *

When the patrol arrived back at the house, Rizusa was sitting up on the couch, staring blankly at the TV. "Welcome home."

"Ah, you're awake?" Ayumi walked over. "Couldn't go back to sleep?"

"No… I got a response from the Principal." She replied. "He said its fine that I submitted my answer early."

"Hehe, that's wonderful~" Ayumi cheered. "Well then I'm gonna go to sleep. Don't forget to turn off the TV~" she skipped off to her room, the boys all heading off to rest as well. But Tamaki stopped at the couch, Rizusa looking up at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"… You're always under pressure, huh Senpai?" he asked, Rizusa smiling a little.

"Ah, Ayumi was talking about the past again, huh?" she asked, leaning back in her chair as Tamaki sat down next to her. "Yes, even now… despite Ojii-sama's passing, I still have much to deal with." She replied, Tamaki nodding his head. "Don't tell the others, okay? But I'm going to go back to UA with you guys."

"You are…? But aren't you recovering?" he asked her.

"Not enough." She replied. "I may be healthy, but there's too much work to do as far as the organization goes… I can't focus on that while I'm here… so for now I'm leaving it to the rest of the Conglomerate… and I'm going to pull my act together."

"… Senpai is really amazing. I see why Ayumi-senpai looks up to you so much." Tamaki added, making Rizusa laugh a little.

"She looks up to me because she doesn't see her own strengths…" she added. "But that's why you love her, right, Tama?"

"L-l-l-l-lo-looo…" Tamaki pulled his hood over his face, trying not to panic. Rizusa pat his head, getting up from the couch.

"Alright, time for bed." She stated. "Goodnight, Tama."

"… Goodnight, Rizusa-senpai."

* * *

Emiko woke up the following morning, sighing to herself. Even Ayumi went out on patrol… That had been on her mind since the night before, no since Minako went on patrol… Was she really that scared to go out just because of the villain that had attacked her? She had to pull herself together, she was a member of this organization too. Even if not much, this was the last night they were spending here for a while. The boys went home to UA the next night… and with Rizusa's decision to follow, Emiko resolved to get out tonight. She was still terrified but if she could at least patrol once before they left, maybe it would be a step in the right direction. She got up and went to get ready for the day, but she felt almost dragged down by the thought. All that what if's and uncertainties came into her head and despite having all day to think about it, she still wasn't sure by the time they all sat down for dinner. "Emiko?" Rizusa's voice snapped her out of it, causing her to look up from her rice. "You should eat…" she stated. "It's getting cold."

"Y-yes, Rizu-nee…" she responded meekly, making Rizusa sigh at her.

"Emiko… if you wanna go on patrol, say it." She stated. "You're gonna get wrinkles, worrying so much about telling me." Emiko's eyes went wide, Rizusa had known?

"Whoa, Emiko-san you're coming with us on patrol?" Kirishima asked, grinning.

"That's really kind of you, Emiko-san." Tokoyami nodded.

"It's been super quiet, so it'll be more like a stroll than a patrol, though…" Amajiki muttered. Todoroki nodded in agreement. Emiko stared at the people at the table, Minako giving her a silent thumbs-up and Ayumi grinning at her.

"… Thanks." She said softly before digging into her food, Rizusa smiling a little before sipping from her tea. At least her friend was gaining back the confidence she'd lost. It was just a matter of would she be able to keep it together. Emiko geared up as soon as dinner was done, and the patrol left for the night without a problem. Rizusa walked into the main room, staring at nothing in particular. This which had been their home for so long… they would leave it behind, at least for now. All their important things had been packed up and tomorrow the moving van would be here to pick up their things to move them to the UA. The boys were leaving after lunch, and the girls would be going with them.

"I wonder… where Principal Nezu put us…?" she asked herself. He hadn't told her which dorm they were staying in, but she knew it was a student dorm. Now whether this was because of his own reasons or because it was the only place to put them, Rizusa wasn't sure. But that was for the best, so she thought. She'd gotten reports about Gin being on the move and his approach to the region again were imminent. If they left now, there'd be no one here by the time he arrived. He would lose a chance to hurt the Conglomerate again. That was Rizusa's goal for now. Keep him away from Emiko while she made her recovery. "I'm not a hero…" she whispered to herself. "So the only thing I can do for Emiko is move her before she gets hurt…"

"That's not all, I think." Minako said, having walked up next to Rizusa. "You're nurturing her, too… making her stronger." She added. "Stop getting so down on yourself, Rizu-nee… You're our leader." She smiled. "Smile, ne?"

"… Smile, huh?" she asked, taking a deep breath. She chuckled, turning to Minako. "You're always encouraging people, you know."

"Well if I didn't, I'm afraid I'd be living in a house full of sad faces." She stated, shrugging her shoulders. "And you'd all be wrapped up like caterpillars and crawling your way around the house. That would be terrifying."

"Pff, what kind of imagery is that?" Rizusa laughed, Minako grinning.

"It's just what I imagine, I guess." She said simply. "Anyway~ Go to sleep, Rizu-nee. I'm sure Emiko is fine, and no way anyone's gonna hurt her if the boys are with her."

"That's not what I'm staying up for though." Rizusa sighed. "I'm waiting on a message from a contact in the city over."

"Oh, working on that still?" Minako asked, Rizusa nodding her head. "Diligent as always, leader~"

"Stop calling me that." Rizusa sighed, Minako apologizing silently. "Anyway. I'll be up for a while longer. You and Ayumi are welcome to go to sleep." She added.

"Alright, sounds good." Minako headed off to her room. "Night, Rizusa-san."

"Night." She called back, staring at the room again. Her phone pinged, snapping her out of reminiscing as she opened it to check for the message. But what she saw almost made her drop her phone, eyes wide.

"Rizu, he's coming. He'll arrive in less than 24 hours." The image attacked was that of the monster that had come after Emiko, left a mark on Rizusa, and almost knocked out both Minako and Ayumi. 1000 blades, Gin… he was less than a day out from the city. He was coming back. She immediately called the moving company, thankfully they were still working, and rescheduled their pickup for earlier in the day, after breakfast. She then went to Minako and Ayumi, letting them know that their bags had to be ready by the time the movers arrived but not explaining why the time was moved up. She went to pack her own things and as soon as the girl came home with their students, she told them return time had been pushed up.

"We're leaving before lunch tomorrow. Sorry for the sudden change of plans but I have to go talk to Principal Nezu and he's not gonna be available in the evening." She said, not letting any of them know the real reason.

"Oh, something important came up?" Emiko asked.

"You can call it that, yeah." She pet Emiko's head. "So get to sleep. It's late. No sleeping in tomorrow."

"Okay." They all said, heading off to get ready for bed. Rizusa immediately went to the training area and rescheduled all the lockdown procedures, taking a deep breath once away from the others. 'That damn monster… why is he hurrying back here?' she thought, wondering if someone tipped Gin off about them leaving with the boys. But no one knew aside from them… so what could it possibly be? She shook the thought, trying to not let it get to her. She had to keep calm, and once she headed back to her room she let herself relax a little. They would be fine… even if she had to wait for the movers alone, she could defend herself. She'd send the others ahead and tell Ayumi to go see Nezu in her place. She'd let the principal know of her situation and ask him not to alert the others. She knew that telling the boys would do no good either. This would end up being her fight, if nothing else.

* * *

((I'm on a roll or something haha, I haven't pumped out this many chapters this fast in a long time.

A threat looms close, the enemy approaches! Who's excited to see what happens next?

-Winter Cheshire))


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 : Move Along

* * *

Everyone sat together at the table for breakfast, but there was a sense of tension. Rizusa wasn't speaking at all, and that seemed to make the other girls nervous. The boys weren't sure if they should ask what was troubling her, so they all stayed silent. Once finished with her food, the bluenette leader of the group left the table silently, taking her dishes with her. Once she was in the kitchen, Ayumi sighed. "Goodness, Rizu-nee forgets how strongly her feelings show…"

"Is she upset?" Shoto asked.

"I can't tell… she could just be in a bad mood?" Minako shrugged. "She often gets like this when she's stressed or feeling pressured." She added. Emiko nodded in agreement, seeing as her mouth was full of rice.

"Stressed?" Tokoyami asked.

"Likely because of going to see the Principal. The issue must be pretty important, huh?" Tamaki asked. "She hasn't looked that stressed since I last saw her before you both graduated." He said, Ayumi nodding.

"Yeah, unfortunately she can get like this at the small things too, though." She smiled. "But anyway." She clapped her hands together. "Let's hurry and clean up. Rizu-nee wants everyone to be ready to go as soon as possible." Ayumi's cheeriness seemed to get everyone off the subject and they went about their meal. Ayumi was just glad that no one had asked Rizusa herself, she wasn't sure if her friend could put up with questions under that much stress. "Rizu-nee…"

"Yes?"

"Uwa!" Ayumi jumped, turning to see Rizusa standing there. "Don't sneak up on me, Rizu-nee!"

"Sorry sorry." She pat her friend's head. "What are you worrying about?" she asked, seeing the look on Ayumi's face. "I'm fine, you know… I just don't like the thought of leaving is all."

"… If you say so, Rizu-nee." Ayumi smiled, knowing there was more but that was all she could say out-loud. "Are the movers coming?"

"Yes, they're on their way. You and the others can head out whenever you want, I'll wait for them."

"No way." Ayumi pouted. "We're staying together and that's final." She added. But even after saying that, Ayumi knew that if Rizusa sent her ahead, she'd end up going. "How much longer till…?" the hesitation was notable enough to clue Rizusa in on what Ayumi was thinking.

"Something like 3 hours… 4 if he gets held up by the trains." She added. "Hopefully he doesn't find a way to get here any faster." She sighed. "Go prep everyone to leave by the hour please."

"Yes, Rizu-nee…" she nodded, heading off to do as requested, looking a little sad. She knew her quirk wasn't good for fighting, only for calming down Rizusa if she ever lost control. That was why she took martial arts, but even that wasn't enough… When she and Minako had come home that day Emiko was attacked, Rizusa was already holding off Gin on her own, but she'd been cut. Only their numbers scared him off, since Minako had been on the phone with someone from the Conglomerate and alerted them immediately to Gin's presence. She knew that a fight would've probably ended in disaster for them.

"… Worrying about something?" Ayumi jumped a little, turning to see Tamaki standing there next to her room. "Senpai, you say Rizusa-senpai's feelings show strongly, but yours do too…"

"… Tama…" she tried to smile her normal flowery smile, but to no avail. "I'm not very good at this hero business, am I?" she smiled, feeling like she might cry. "I'm only around for Rizu-nee…"

"That's not true." He told her. "Ayumi-senpai is…" he glanced away, face reddening. What he wouldn't give to be wearing his hood right now. "Ayumi-senpai is kind… and you always keep an eye out for your friends… you never let anyone worry about you…" he looked back up at her. "And Ayumi-senpai is always encouraging people… especially me… So, don't be sad… you've got a huge heart, senpai… I'm sure that's why Rizusa-senpai has defended you so adamantly. She'd never have any other Aihara replace you." He added, Ayumi feeling her heart flutter a little. "You're her best friend, Ayumi-senpai. There's no way she'd ever want anyone else to stand at her side as the second pillar of the Conglomerate." The plum haired girl's lips curved up into a smile that melted Tamaki's heart.

"Hehe, Tama giving me a pep talk… this is nice." She hugged onto him, his face coloring bright red again. "Thanks, Tama." she added, seeming very content.

"I just can't let you look sad like that, Senpai." He muttered, patting her head and trying not to show his embarrassment.

* * *

Everyone was packed and ready to leave, the movers having just arrived. Rizusa was directing them as Ayumi made sure everything was ready. "Movers…?" Shoto asked.

"Yes, Rizu-nee got an offer from the Principal a while back, and he said just to call if she ever wanted to make use of it. She made a decision to go to UA for a while, so we're moving our things there too." Ayumi smiled. "It may be temporary but Rizu-nee thinks it's for the best." She nodded. "Plus she thinks that getting back to the UA will help out as far as her planning for the new Four Dragon's Conglomerate." She added, grinning.

"Eeh… so you're not just coming to talk to the Principal…" Shoto glanced over at Rizusa as she finished directing the movers.

"Technically not, but…" she rubbed the back of her neck. "That's the main reason for leaving today…" she stated. "Now, all of you are ready to go?" she asked, everyone nodding. "Good. The movers seem to know what they're doing." She added. "So, let's go…" They headed out, Shoto staying to walk with Rizusa.

"There's more to it, huh?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't seem like the type of person to rush out because of a meeting." He replied. "That's all…" Rizusa looked at the ground as they walked, then back up at Shoto. "So, I just wonder what's really pushing you to leave so quickly."

"Your instincts are very good." She said softly. "Yes there is another reason…" she looked up at Emiko walking with Kirishima and Tokoyami, Minako close behind them. "A monster seeks to return and finish what it started." She looked back at the boy walking at her side. "And I cannot allow him to seek out my pillar of support again… I must keep her safe while she is still healing…"

"… Thousand Blades?" he asked, almost unsure.

"Yes… I have informants all over the country… unfortunately he was spotted heading back here a short while ago… I didn't want to chance it by leaving in the evening." She added. "The movers will have everything out by long before that… he'll be at a loss… finding us will be difficult, but even if he does, at UA he won't chance it." She added. "He can't win that way…"

"Are you afraid of him?"

"No… but I'm afraid of what he could do to Emiko if he attacks again." She shook her head. "So for now…" she saw Emiko turn back and look at them, waving to her shorter white-haired friend. "I'll keep protecting them all. At any cost, I cannot allow my pillars to fall."

"Your conviction is impressive."

"Eh?" she looked a little confused. "What do you mean? Isn't it the same as students at UA aiming to be heroes?" she asked, Shoto's eyes widening a little at the comment.

"Well, in a way I suppose… but… you're doing something different. You're not just aiming for a goal, you're protecting an entire organization…" he replied.

"Oh… I see…" she smiled. "I don't think that's what it is really… I think its very much the same as the students at UA… aiming to become a protector…" she looked up at her friends walking ahead of them. "Protecting people… most especially those you care about." She then turned back to Shoto, a brighter, almost cheerful smile gracing her features. "It's something that's kind of ingrained into me. But thank you all the same, Shoto."

"Y-you're welcome…" he turned away a little, cheeks ever so slightly pink. The group shortly after arrived at the station and got their tickets, heading to grab some food before getting onto their train and heading out to UA.

* * *

Upon arriving at the stop before the school, Rizusa's phone pinged, letting her know that the movers had closed the door and locked it, sighing in relief. They were done, thankfully. Now they just had to wait for their things to arrive. She looked out the window, smiling. "We're here. Let's go." She stated, seeing the stop coming up. They all got out of their seats as the train stopped, heading out the door and out of the station with Rizusa leading the way.

"Hehe, its like we never left school, huh Rizu-nee?" Ayumi grinned, walking next to her friend. "I miss this walk. Its always so relaxing." She added, Emiko pointing things out to Minako since she was the only one who'd never been to the campus before.

"Has it changed much, since you were here?" Kirishima asked, walking next to Shoto and Tokoyami.

"No… its very much the same, aside from a few aesthetic things." Rizusa replied. "I'm rather excited to see how they incorporated the dormitories onto campus, though."

"Its super cool, we can show you if they let us!" Kirishima grinned.

"I'm sure the Principal wouldn't mind." Ayumi nodded. "Nezu-sensei's always very nice."

"Define nice, Ayumi…" Emiko made a face. "Nezu-sensei's scary sometimes…"

"Now now, he'll hear you." Rizusa said as they walked up to the front gate, Nezu standing there with Aizawa. "Ah, Aizawa-sensei…"

"Welcome back, everyone." Nezu said cheerfully. He gave the girls their passes and they all entered the campus before any real talk began. "Rizusa, you had something to discuss, yes?"

"Yes, sir… If you still have a few minutes, I'd like to have that conversation sooner than later." She replied, the Principal nodding.

"Of course. Aizawa-sensei, if you could show them around campus for Miss Tsubakawa's sake, and then meet us back in front of the dormitory they'll be staying in?" Aizawa nodded, leading them off, the boys sticking with them at Ayumi's request.

"What a pain, you're all tagging along? I'm not a tour guide." Aizawa muttered, Ayumi smiling cheerfully. "Stop making that face, Aihara."

"Aww but Sensei… That's not nice, let them stay. Please?" she grinned.

"… You're lucky that she's vouching for you… come on…" he grumbled as they went along, the boys seeming shocked. Aizawa was giving into a request of a girl who hadn't attended this school in years. More than that, not even a former student of his.

"If you're wondering." Emiko began, hanging back as Minako and Ayumi walked with the teacher. The boys were hanging back with her as well. "Ayumi and Aizawa-san are related… I believe it was something like distant cousins or something to that effect." She added.

"What, no way!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"They're very different… though I suppose that would explain why he gave into the request so easily…" Tokoyami nodded his head. Tamaki looked very sullen, hearing that fact. Shoto seemed mostly unaffected.

"She doesn't talk about it much, probably because he's a pro hero so she doesn't want to cause any trouble for him." Emiko replied. "But when they're together it kind of shows. Like a big brother that is much older taking care of a little sister who's still innocent and cheerful." She added.

"Oi, Kujou… I can hear you." Aizawa stated, turning to look at them as Minako surveyed the school buildings as they walked by. "Stop talking about things like that…"

"Aww, Sensei… are you ashamed to be related to me? That's not nice at all, I'm a good person at least, right?" Ayumi pouted, Aizawa grumbling about babysitting the group all the way until they arrived at the dormitory for Class 1A. And as they arrived, they noticed the moving truck.

"Ah… Isn't that…?" Minako looked at the people moving their things. "Ah, it is our moving truck."

"Ohoho, so they did put us in the dorm with the first years." Ayumi grinned. "Too bad, I wanted to harass Tama but that's okay. I'll sneak out~"

"Oi oi, don't cause trouble." Aizawa muttered at her, knowing she wasn't listening anyway.

"There are lots of people though… are those your students?" Emiko asked Aizawa.

"Yeah… they're too curious." He added.

"Well with all that furniture they must want to know who's moving in… shall we go say hello?" Ayumi asked with a smile. "If we're gonna be living here and all, I think it would be a good idea to get to know them, at least."

"Yes, good idea." Minako nodded, Emiko following as Aizawa walked ahead, the boys all following suit.

"Sensei! What's with all this furniture?" A pinkette asked, her small yellow horns seeming to perk up at the new arrivals. "Ah! And three girls! Are they moving in with us?"

"But it would be odd for three new students to start now, wouldn't it?" Yaoyorazu stated.

"They don't look like students, though…" Ojiro said, smiling a little.

"Settle down, and move out of the way. Let the movers do their jobs." Aizawa stated, waiting for the students who had come to observe gather out front of the dorm before beginning. "These three and one more woman are going to be sharing your dorm for a little while." He stated. "They are members of the Four Dragon's Conglomerate, and their current leader is reforming the organization. Since they're all young, it was decided that a school environment would help them all figure out the details and since three of the four attended UA, they came here."

"F-f-four Dragon's Conglomerate?!" the greenette with freckles exclaimed, eyes wide. "W-w-waaah, you're really part of the Four Dragons?!" he exclaimed.

"Hehe, a fan perhaps?" Ayumi smiled cheerfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." She bowed her head along with Minako and Emiko. "My name is Ayumi Aihara."

"And my name is Minako Tsubakawa. Pleasure to meet you all."

"Emiko Kujou. Nice to meet you, Class 1A."

"Waaaah!" The greenette, Midoriya Izuku as introduced by Kirishima on the sly, gave short spiels on each of the girls families and what their jobs were in the conglomerate. But then there was a short pause and he turned to them. "Um… I'm sorry if this is an odd question but… is your leader here as well?" he asked.

"Ahaha, yes she's actually talking to Principal Nezu right now, she'll be joining us in a little bit." Ayumi smiled, patting Izuku's head with a smile. "Your hair is so soft~ I'm jealous~" she grinned, Izuku's face lighting up bright red. "Hehe, we get to live in a dorm with all these cute little heroes in training, I'm so happy~"

"Don't blow a gasket." Aizawa grumbled again. "And don't be weird…"

"Aww, but I'm only a little weird~ Don't be mean to me~" she pouted at Aizawa, making him grumble again.

"So you're all staying with us?" A brunette girl with rosy cheeks grinned. "This will be so much fun!"

"Oh, there's a lot of people…" Rizusa walked up behind Aizawa, the teacher turning to glance at her. "Sorry I took so long, Aizawa-sensei."

"Rizu-nee, welcome back~" Ayumi cheered, Izuku looking starry eyed to see her. He began explaining to the brunette and a couple of the others about Rizusa and her quirk, the bluenette seeming surprised by his knowledge.

"You seem to know quite a bit about us." She smiled, Izuku panicking for a moment, getting a pat on the head from the Ryugazaki girl. "It's alright, don't worry. We're not as well known as some people now days, so its nice to know at least some younger people still have some knowledge of us."

"O-of course!" he exclaimed. "The Four Dragons Conglomerate is an incredible organization that has done so much for so many people… And even then, you're aiming to make it better, right?" he asked. "It's amazing, Ryugazaki-san!"

"Well thank you." She said, smiling a little. She turned to Shoto after a moment. "Your classmates are all very nice, Shoto."

"Whoa, she calls you by your first name!"

"That's so unfair!"

"Well that's my hero name too…" he grumbled a little, the boys pestering him about it a little as Tamaki excused himself to go back to his dorm, Ayumi pouting at him but letting him leave quietly. They had a while more to converse before their teacher cleared his throat.

"Alright alright, enough messing around." Aizawa stated. "The movers are done, let them go arrange their things." He added. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Aww, Sensei's running away…" Ayumi shrugged, grinning. "That's okay, though~"

"We can continue this conversation once we're done arranging our rooms." Rizusa said, Izuku nodding with a big smile along with Ochako as she'd introduced herself, along with a few other students. "Alright, we'll see you all in a bit." The four girls headed into the dorm, up to their rooms and began rearranging things.

"I wonder… what kind of rooms they'll have?" Ochako wondered aloud.

"Mmm, that's a good question." Tsuyu nodded her head.

"You think we'd be able to get them to show us?" Denki asked.

"Maybe three of them might agree, but not Rizusa-san I don't think…" Kirishima pondered.

"That's true… Ayumi-san and Minako-san don't seem the type to mind… Emiko-san might not mind much either…" Tokoyami replied.

"But what about Rizusa-san?" Mina asked.

"She's probably not gonna want to show us…" Izuku muttered.

"She'd probably be fine with it." Shoto replied, the others turning to look at him with shocked expressions. "What?"

"What makes you say that?" Jiro asked him.

"Its not like she has anything to hide, right?" Mineta was groping the air in a mildly creepy manner.

"Mmm, should we ask though? I mean…" Ojiro began.

"They are our senpais! It would be rude to ask them to show us their rooms!" Iida waved his hands around in a frenzy.

"There's no harm in asking. The most they can do is say no." Hanta added. All the students seemed at a crossroads about what to do, Rizusa walking up behind them mid conversation, staring at them for a moment.

"If you want to see you're welcome to." She stated, everyone jumping in shock and turning to her. "We're done."

"That was fast!" they all exclaimed, Rizusa smiling a little at their reaction.

"Well, if you wanna see, come on." She said, heading back into the dorms.

* * *

((So far the girls arrive without a hitch, but will it last?

Next time, look forward to dormitory descriptions and maybe some drama.

-Winter Cheshire))


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Nostalgic Stargazer

* * *

"Hehe, we're going to show off our rooms to the kiddies?" Ayumi asked, grinning. "That's fun~ I don't mind~"

"Nor do I." Minako shook her head.

"So long as you don't touch anything, it should be safe…" Emiko nodded, crossing her arms. The girls each showed the students their rooms, starting with Minako. She opened her door to reveal a simple room with mid-tone wood floors, soft painted walls of a greenish tone. It's interior decoration very clean and simple, not too many things out in the open. But what was there were tools of her trade.

"Oooh, is that a medical kit?"

"And a cabinet of medicine and supplies too…"

"Whoa, its like almost like a clinic or something in here…"

"It's not bad though…" The room was a good one for a woman like Minako, dedicated to her craft. They graded it a good room overall. Next, they headed over to Emiko's room, the girl letting them enter. But instead of a cute, fluffy room like they expected for a girl who looked and dressed the way she did, they found the whole room looking almost mechanical and full of unfinished building projects. The walls were dark metal plates with various lights and all sorts of tools hanging, shelves full of bits and pieces of material unused.

"Whoa, what is all this?!"

"This is insane!"

"These are all really cool!"

"Whoa, wait don't touch those-!" Kirishima exclaimed as Sero leaned out of someone's way and nearly touching something on the desk, the item opening up into what looked like a small tank, aiming at Sero and shooting out a puff of smoke, causing the boy to jump back. "Told you."

"What the heck was that?!"

"It's a part of my collection… that one's good for defending my room from intruders… There are more with things like spike treads and circular saws too." Emiko replied, all the students vowing never to go into Emiko's room again. The next room was Ayumi's, the girl smiling as they approached. They opened the door, eyes going wide at the room.

"Waah, its adorable!"

"Look at all the rabbits!" the girls cooed at all the adorable rabbit themed items, Ayumi smiling cheerfully as they went over her room. The floors were a light greyish wood-grain plank with soft heather purple walls. The decoration was head to toe rabbit themed items, the biggest of which was a rabbit theme oversized beanbag. "Its so squishy and soft!"

"Isn't it? I love that beanbag. Rizu-nee bought it for me." She said cheerfully, everyone turning to look at Rizusa as she stood at the door. "Rizu-nee always buys me cute things for my birthday~"

"Because you say you like them…" Rizusa sighed at her friend, Ayumi chuckling at her. They rated it the cutest room in the building. After everyone was done with Ayumi's room, they walked over to Rizusa's, everyone whispering to one another about all the possibilities of what to expect.

"I think dark and elegant."

"No way, its got to be a simple room like Minako's."

"No, it might be something really scary!"

"I doubt that…"

"Here we are." She stated, opening the door for them. "Please, go ahead." She added, motioning for them to enter. The students took a peek, soon heading inside to look at the room. It was simple, but it had an elegance to it. The darker colors added to the atmosphere and it made it seem like a pretty normal but well laid out room. The floor was an espresso brown, the walls a light grey-white. The interior was simple, but a long desk and bookshelves made it seem homey. The only thing to stand out was…

"Is that… a bear?"

"Uwaa, a stuffed bear?"

"Its so cute…"

"Yes, that's Kuma…" Rizusa stated. "Kuma was my grandfather's present to me when I turned 12…" she stated. The others seemed a little surprised that she had such a thing, but she just smiled. "I've always loved stuffed animals, though I guess having one that doesn't actually talk back is nice sometimes." She added, referencing her quirk. A timer dinged, alerting the class to something being done. "Ah, there it is… now would anyone like some snacks?" she asked, taking a plate out and handing it to the students. "Warm chocolate cake is always a nice snack, ne?"

"Uwaaaa, you made cake?"

"Yes, I figured this would be a good way to introduce ourselves more properly to you all." Rizusa nodded, handing the cakes out to the students.

"I-it smells good!"

"Thanks, Rizusa-san!"

* * *

After everyone went to sleep, Rizusa was staring out at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. Being back here was a stiff reminder of so many memories. As time passed, she sighed, feeling that sadness creeping in. So much happened while Rizusa was still in school. So much had changed. "Hah, nostalgia…? Geez, I'm not that old yet, am I?" she muttered to herself, letting the memories all flow back.

* * *

 _Flashback- Rizusa: Age 9_

Rizusa sat in the principal's office, awaiting her Grandfather's arrival. She'd gotten in trouble for getting into an argument, a fight breaking out on the playground. A boy in her class made fun of her quirk, saying dragons weren't at all like how her quirk depicted them and that she was weak. She'd gotten so sick of hearing it day after day that she lashed out, not with her quirk or her words, but with her fists. She punched the boy and broken his nose, finally shutting him up. But she was scolded and now waiting for her caretaker to retrieve her. When he walked into the room, Rizusa's eyes hit the ground. She could almost feel his disappointment rolling off him in waves, but he said nothing. He just tapped her shoulder, causing her to get up and follow him home. They stopped at a small stand, Rizusa recognizing the woman in front of it as Shion, someone who helped look after her as a child and her grandfather's friend. "Oh, what's wrong, Rizusa-chan?"

"… Nothing, Shion-baba…"

"Ah ah, no lying to old Shion, please." Shion pat her head, Rizusa looking up, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Was someone mean at school? Its okay. Bullies are always around, but you're a good girl, ne? So even if you got in trouble, you're not a bad person."

"… Shion, stop encouraging it." Rizusa's grandfather mumbled as Rizusa wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"Now now, don't be like that Senpai… Rizusa-chan takes after you, so defending the family's pride is ingrained in her." Shion added, waving a finger at her "senpai", the old man just standing there and pretending like he wasn't being scolded. "Your grandbaby is very much a proud Ryugazaki, you should be taking more care to make sure she's confident in herself."

"I…" Both turned to look at Rizusa as she finished wiping her tears. "I'm sorry… Ojii-sama…" she bowed stiffly to her grandfather, obviously still not feeling good but pushing through.

"Oi, don't cry again…" he mumbled, going over and putting his hand on her head, rubbing her head gently to calm her down. "You're just doing what your instincts tell you… family means a lot to us, I understand your anger, Rizusa. But you mustn't take it out on innocents unless they throw the first punch. You must have a sharp tongue to rebuke them without hurting them physically. You're better than that. Aren't you?"

"… Yes, Ojii-sama." She sniffled, the old man sighing at his granddaughter's tears. "I'll never let someone better me this way again!"

"That's all well and good, then." Shion smiled, handing Akemi some candy from behind the counter of her little stall. "Here. Go share some with Ayumi-chan too, ne? Your grandfather and I have to discuss something."

"Y-yes." She bowed, taking the candy and heading off to her house where Ayumi would have been waiting for a training session with their martial arts teacher. Once she was far enough away, Shion looked up at the old man.

"You know, Senpai… Rizusa-chan's still a kid… don't be so harsh on her." Shion let out a big sigh. "You work her so hard, it's a wonder she doesn't have stark white hair from all the stress." But the old man just stood there, silent. "… Senpai?"

"Rizusa's… so much like her mother." He stated simply. "But she has the temper of her father when pride is on the line… a volatile combination, Shion."

"She's still learning… give her a couple years and she will be able to control it." Shion handed the old man a piece of hard candy, grinning. "She's progressing way faster than a certain boy who used to pick fights with everyone just to rebel against the oppression at home."

"… The family training was more lax back then." He grumbled, taking the candy.

* * *

 _Rizusa: Age 13_

"Now, that incident…" The whole room seemed to quiet down at the mention of the "incident", Rizusa sitting at the table with a solemn look on her face. "Ryugazaki, Rizusa… you, not yet licensed or even provisionally so attacked a villain after he attacked you and your school. Due to working with another villain, the heroes were delayed and thus you were left alone to fight for almost an hour while awaiting a hero's arrival." The old man sitting next to Rizusa had his arms crossed and he sat staring at the man across with a stern face. "Though your efforts were indeed appreciated, and no students were harmed, you were reckless and you put yourself in extreme danger."

"… I understand." She replied, gripping her hand into a fist.

"Due to circumstance we won't punish you or anything like that." The woman with a much more cheerful disposition said. "But please, you're only in your second year of middle school. Be careful. We're just glad that you aren't hurt. The press will also suppress the story and your grandfather will be credited with saving the school, since any cameras were only at a distance."

"Very good." The old man replied, standing up. "We're done here. Rizusa, we're leaving."

"Yes, Ojii-sama." She stood up and followed him out, eyes plastered to the floor. Once they made it almost all the way back to their home, the old man stopped at a small shop. "I'm sorry." She said in a soft voice as he turned to her, assuming his stopping meant she would be reprimanded for what had been done.

"Don't apologize… if that had been my school, you would be receiving a merit or an award…" he replied. "You did as you were trained to. Defend the innocent and keep harm from coming to them." The woman behind the counter brought them a soft cream in a cone, smiling.

"Here you are dearie." She handed it to Rizusa.

"Th-thank you, Shion-baba."

"You're welcome." She stated with a smile.

"Rizusa, go home." Her grandfather stated, the girl heading for home as he stood at the storefront. "… Shion."

"I know, you know." She sighed. "Senpai, you won't tell her?"

"I can't… she already is missing her parents, if I told her something like that now… I couldn't be sure she would handle it." He replied. "She took her first step to inheriting the family business, though, so I suppose at least she's doing well."

"You're too hard on her sometimes, senpai." Shion laughed. "She's doing much better than you at that age." She added, the old man flinching a little.

"She has to… I don't have enough time left and without her parents here to help her, I can't afford to let her fall behind. She must be prepared by the time she's graduated UA."

"Oh, you've decided for her again?"

"No." he replied. "I asked her where she would go for high school. She herself said, without hesitation, gave me her answer of UA Academy…" he looked at his hand. "I assume that's because she wants to follow their paths…"

"Of course." Shion nodded. "Now you'd best support her, senpai. Otherwise nothing will come of the efforts you and she have been putting in."

"… I know, Shion."

* * *

 _Rizusa: Age 18_

Rizusa sat in class, the bad feeling having kept looming over her all day. She just didn't understand, why was she feeling like this? She'd finished her last written exam for the semester, about to head out when suddenly Present Mic opened the door. "Sensei…? Is something…?" She caught a look in his eye as he looked her way, immediately feeling the bad feeling wash over her again, only much stronger. Without a word she rushed out of the room, Ayumi calling after her. Mic let her run by him, hearing the door to the exit slam open as she reached it.

"Sensei, what's going on?" Ayumi asked, Mic turning to her. "… Is… something wrong?" she wanted to chase Rizusa, but she wanted details first. Very few things could make Rizusa run out of the room like that. Mic shook his head, putting a hand on Ayumi's shoulder. In that moment the plum haired teen knew, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It… can't be…"

Rizusa burst into the compound, seeing her grandfather laying there, being worked on by paramedics. He was so pale, almost blue. She felt her heart stop, eyes wide and tears brimming. She couldn't manage words, biting them back and standing there watching helplessly as Noire appeared on her shoulder. The little dragon bowed his head and closed his eyes as Rizusa watched the paramedics stop working on her grandfather. They turned to her and apologized softly, Rizusa shaking her head and thanking them for trying in a surprisingly stable voice. They offered to call someone to pick up the body, which she accepted. But as soon as they left, Rizusa fell to her knees and the tears all fell, streaming down her cheeks. She gasped for breath, sobbing uncontrollably and trying to manage words. Noire didn't speak, just standing on her shoulder and hoping she'd be okay. The men arrived to take the body to the mortuary, Rizusa having calmed down enough by that point to thank them before they left. But she was far from being okay. Once they left and the door closed, she cried all night. She didn't let anyone come see her, she locked her house up and stayed in the entryway where he'd fallen.

"Ojii-sama…" she choked out through her tears. "I'm sorry… I wasn't here…" she gripped her hands into fists, trying to make sense of the loss.

"Apologies are not needed, young one." Rizusa paused, the sudden rush of energy surprising her. But it was not hostile. She turned, seeing a small silvery-white dragon doll floating next to her, its piercing blue orbs staring into her soul. "You have witnessed a death of someone close to your heart… I understand you are in pain… however, you are a Ryugazaki… this is, as a Dragon Doll user, a trial you must overcome." He added. "You must not let this hold you down… you have, as I have been told, a practical exam tomorrow… eat something, sleep, and wake tomorrow for your trial." Rizusa stared at the dragon doll as it vanished, her tears having slowed and stopped.

"… You're still here, huh…?" she muttered, getting up. "You're gonna be here, whether you're alive or dead, is that the lesson?" she rubbed her eyes, going to the kitchen to reheat her dinner that the old man had left out for her. "… I know it can't hold me down… I'm not gonna let it… but I have to grieve, don't I?" she asked as she felt the tears sneaking back in. "… Damn it, Ojii-sama…" she slammed her fist on the counter. "Why… why now?" she asked herself, feeling her hands shaking.

 _Flashback End:_

* * *

"Its already been this long…" she mumbled, her hair now hanging in her face. "Ojii-sama… am I a strong leader yet?"

"You seem plenty strong to me." Rizusa jumped a little, turning to see Shoto standing behind her.

"Shoto…" she smiled. "When did you get there?"

"Just a second ago…" he moved to sit next to her. "I had a question."

"Oh, a question? Of course, ask away." She smiled, seeming glad for his changing the subject rather than asking what was wrong.

"Everyone kept asking… and I'm a little curious too… how did you get licensed as a hero when you didn't take the hero course?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"Ahh, that?" she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's a back door that the Conglomerate has always had, really…" she sighed. "Its because we're an organization that has a contract with the government." She stated. "For me, its because I inherited Dragon Doll… long ago it was established that any user of Dragon Doll will be immediately registered as a hero upon their 18th birthday, once it is established that the ability is seeded in them and they have control over at least 7 pillars." She stated. "… As a child… I was attacked a lot by meager villains looking for a way to take the Conglomerate down… but I was always saved…" she stated. "… I was always kept safe… but one day no one could come." She looked up at the moon. "I was 13… stuck in my middle school building, no teachers able to protect us… There was at least half of my class in the building with me… all the other kids were outside or already headed home when it happened." She turned back to Shoto. "Two villains teamed up… one to distract pro heroes with a quirk that made him a professional escape artist, the other creating a barrier that anyone over a certain age could not cross." She sighed. "Had they been better trained, they would have killed myself and all those other kids that day." She added, Shoto staring and listening intently to her story.

"So how did it end up…?"

"… I held the barrier-maker off for about an hour, because Dragon Dolls don't technically have an age they could get through and his barriers did nothing against their powers or attacks. But while that was happening, my Grandfather had somehow gotten past the barrier and into the school… I assume it was a Dragon Doll he had, one of the ten pillars he acquired must have allowed him to somehow bypass the barrier." She nodded.

"Your grandfather must be very strong."

"… He was." She smiled. "He taught me everything I needed to lead the conglomerate… schooled me in martial arts once I got good enough, in how to manifest my quirk to the extent I can now, how to call upon the pillars when I must… and the best part, how to make great food~" she smiled, Shoto smiling a little too. "He was a harsh teacher, but all the same… he was my Grandfather…"

"… You must miss him."

"I do… but he's never far…" she turned to Shoto with a smile. "Now, enough chat about me." She pat the boy's head with a grin. "Let's talk about you, Shoto."

"Huh…?"

"I wanna hear about you. I'm still curious about you, after all."

* * *

((Okay, so no drama today. Next time next time.  
I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS CHAPTER UP WORK HAS BEEN CRAZY-! TT x TT

Anyway, please look forward to the next one~ I'll do my best to get a new chapter up sometime before June is over.

-Winter Cheshire))


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: A Pillar's Dilemma

* * *

"What do you mean by that?" Rizusa asked, sitting in her room having tea with Minako, noting the girl's unease about bringing up the situation. Emiko had been following around Kirishima ever since they arrived here. Sure, she'd occasionally vanish somewhere, but the girl went to every class with him too… granted, Ayumi was going to some as well, but not all of them.

"She's borderline stalking, Rizu-nee… I think its because she's comfortable with him, but…" she sighed. "I don't know how to tell her that she needs to cool it…"

"Its not like she's following him into the changing rooms or anything… not like Ayumi would try to do to Tama…" Rizusa sipped her drink, Minako nodding in silent agreement. "But… I suppose it must be distracting for Kirishima-kun too…" she sighed. "Has Emiko mentioned anything?"

"Not that she told me… Just that he's the nicest of the four we met when they came for their lesson, so…" Minako bit into a cookie, Rizusa glancing at the plate in front of her friend before refilling it with a couple more small cookies, also taking a moment to refill the blackette's tea. "I don't know, Rizu-nee… maybe she's just following him because he's safe to her?"

"It's fine, don't stress about it." Rizusa bit into a cookie as Minako took a sip of her tea. "If Emi's needing security, then its not a problem… Besides, she's using her inventions to aid Aizawa-sensei and the others in their classes, or making things for home when we return." She added. "Its not harming either one, and for now if Kirishima-kun doesn't find it to be a problem, then I say it's just Emiko getting accustomed to the environment again."

"… I suppose…"

"Besides, if she's not trying to sneak into the locker rooms with him, we can be sure that she's not on Ayumi's level yet."

"… Yes, you're right." Minako sighed in relief. "Thank you, Rizu-nee…"

"You're welcome. Now finish your tea and some more cookies. You need to get back to your work soon, so have at least some energy before you go." Rizusa said, standing up, her cup and plate empty of all the snacks and drink she'd had a few minutes before. She wandered outside into the dorm halls, glancing around before heading downstairs to the communal kitchen on the first floor. She opened the fridge, noting that Ayumi had gone and gotten all the groceries she requested, smiling a little. "Alright… no slacking tonight, Rizusa." She told herself, grabbing the groceries and laying them all across the counter, starting to chop and slice things up, a little dragon doll appearing at her side. "Lula, good morning." She smiled, the little pink and aqua dragon doll jumping a little in greeting. "What do you say we have fun today, ne?"

* * *

As the students walked up to their dorm from their afternoon training, they heard some sort of beat coming from inside the dorm hall. As they opened the door, they were hit with tantalizing aromas of all sorts of food being cooked. They rushed over to the mess hall, eyes widening as they saw Rizusa standing in front of the stove, flipping something in a pan, the little pink and aqua doll at her side booming music that gave Rizusa enough rhythm to sway to the music. She turned to see the students, smiling a little. "Ah, welcome back." She stated, all of them surprised to see the leader of the Four Dragons standing there in an apron and a casual outfit cooking a meal to some upbeat music. "You're all working hard, I see." She mentioned, referring to some of them with small scrapes and dings visible. "Go wash up, dinner's gonna be done in about half an hour or so."

"Whoa, Rizusa-san made us dinner?!"

"Its like having a housewife…"

"Waaah, thank you Rizusa-san!"

"I can't wait, it smells so good!" As the others rushed up to their rooms to go wash up, Todoroki stopped next to the counter.

"… Did you need any help…?"

"I'm alright. Thank you though, Shoto." She nodded her head. "Ah… though…" she turned to a pot on the stove, taking a ladle and dipping it in, pouring it into a small dish, handing it to him. "Is the soup too salty…?" He took the dish, sipping it and shaking his head.

"It's very well balanced."

"Hehe, thanks." She smiled a little more. "I haven't made this soup in a while… I figured it would be a nice treat both for you guys and for the other three." She added, moving to mix another pot on the stove, then opening the oven to reveal some items that had been broiling. "I hope everyone likes these dishes… I tried to get a good range so everyone could enjoy the meal thoroughly."

"I'm sure they will." He replied. "I'll be back down to help you set up the plates."

"Ah, thank you, that would be great." She nodded, watching him head off before Lula jumped on her shoulder, nuzzling her shoulder and no longer playing music. "Yes?" The little dragon bounced, grinning as she played a new song. It referred to young love, making Rizusa's cheeks color a little. "Lula, no." she scolded. The dragon doll pouted, but vanished on command, the bluenette sighing a little and continuing to finish making dinner. "… I will not… I cannot…" she whispered to herself. "… Not again."

* * *

Mianko had a look on her face that caused Tokoyami to wonder what was wrong. The medical practitioner always seemed to either be smiling or have a calculating look on her face. However the young man noticed that her face was set in a pout, though almost unnoticeable, it was there. She had been looking like that for days. Finally, after finishing the dinner Rizusa prepared for the group, he followed her outside and asked her what was wrong. "It's really nothing…"

"It must be something… you look distressed, Minako-san." Now normally, Tokoyami wouldn't being things like this up. He felt like he had to. For some reason, seeing Minako this way was causing him to worry.

"Its just me thinking too much, I think." She smiled as they stopped at a tree. Minako climbed up into the tree, Tokoyami following. "Rizusa… is upset… Emiko's off in her own world… and Ayumi, well…" she smiled a little. "I guess I always worry what's going through Ayumi's head." She added. "I know that things are changing for the Conglomerate, but… sometimes I wonder."

"She seems to have a handle on it, from my perspective."

"She always does… but even then, occasionally she gets this look on her face… she looks so sad… and lonely." Minako leaned back against the tree trunk as the breeze flowed through the tree branches. "Rizusa shouldn't be lonely… she's the beloved leader of the Conglomerate, but somehow she still looks lonely."

"… Is it because she's the leader?" Tokoyami asked.

"Sometimes I think it could be that… but other times, I know better." She turned to him. "She's lonely because she's got so much love to give, and no one to give it to."

"What do you mean?"

"I think its because she's so aloof, but she's never been able to get close to anyone outside of the organization." Minako said simply, Tokoyami's eyes wide in disbelief at the statement. "No one ever wanted to get close to her, either. They were scared or intimidated… she was too different… in a league all her own… and that made her very sad for a long time."

"… She was too prestigious."

"Yes, and the sad part is that she's really the sweetest thing when you get to know her." She glanced at her hand, then at the sky. "But she's also doing it to herself… pushing people away."

"Why's that?"

"Because being the leader of the conglomerate means being a target… and putting anyone who comes around in grave danger as well…" Minako gripped her hand in a fist. "She tried once… to make friends with a boy who knew nothing of the conglomerate in middle school… but when an enemy got wind of it, that boy was nearly killed. He only recently was released from the hospital."

"…" Tokoyami suddenly felt heavy; that was terrifying, to think that even in middle school things like that happened. "That must have been devastating."

"It was… Rizusa was a wreck for a while after that." Minako took a deep breath, calming herself down. "She vowed to never get close to anyone outside the conglomerate again, but it hurts her a lot… because even if she wants to prevent any of us from getting hurt, her heart is too big. Whenever something goes wrong, she wants to right it… whenever someone gets hurt she wants to help… whenever some wrong happens, she wants to fix it."

"That's what makes her a good hero."

"Yes, but its also a weakness that she cannot overlook." Minako added. "How many times, she's gotten herself hurt for us… how many times she's put everyone else first, even though she's hurting… I know she's trying to be strong but for once I wish she'd just focus on herself… find happiness for herself…" she paused, turning to Tokoyami. "Sorry, this must be boring… to hear about trivial worries like this."

"Not at all." He shook his head. "If it means that much, perhaps you should get the other two members and put something together for her? Either a small party or a present to show her that you're thinking of her? If you need help gathering things, I could assist." Minako stared for a moment at Tokoyami, a smile soon gracing her features again.

"That's a great idea!" she exclaimed, her smile suddenly much brighter. "A party for her… she's never let us throw parties for her aside from on her birthday, but that would definitely snap her out of it." She nodded. "Oh, and its only a few days until the day she officially formed our generation of the Conglomerate! That would be the perfect way to celebrate!" Tokoyami watched as Minako planned it all out in her head, glad that she seemed pleased with the idea. "Could you get the rest of your class involved too? At least if they want to join in… It'll definitely make the party more lively, at least!"

"I'll ask them tomorrow." He nodded, Minako smiling cheerfully.

"That's great, thank you!" Tokoyami nodded again, glad to see Minako wasn't looking distressed any longer.

* * *

"A party for Rizusa-san?" Midoriya asked. Tokoyami had brought up the idea before homeroom started, Ayumi and Emiko also present in the room.

"That sounds like so much fun!"

"Even though the subject's not super fun…"

"Well it's a huge thing isn't it? Forming her generation of the conglomerate and all."

"Ahaha, she'll be so surprised~" Ayumi grinned, Emiko nodding in agreement. "We haven't thrown her a party not on her birthday in so long~"

"What kind of foods does she like? We can go grab it from the market."

"Oh but we gotta hide it from her… keep her out of the dorm while we set up. Any volunteers?"

"Wouldn't it make her suspicious though?"

"The girls could take her shopping…"

"I don't think Rizu-nee would buy that…" Emiko stated, shaking her head. "Ayumi would spill the beans."

"Oh Emi, hush I would not." She pouted, the white haired girl shrugging her shoulders. They discussed it for a few more moments when Shoto walked in to the room, everyone turning to him. "Ah, Todoroki-kun!" Ayumi's eyes lit up. "You can take Rizu-nee somewhere to distract her!"

"… Huh?" After being let in on the idea, Shoto shook his head. "You're all crazy… where would I take her anyway?" he asked.

"But Todoroki-kun, pleeeease?" Ayumi pouted at him. "I know Rizu-nee has taken a shine to you, please at least distract her for a little while? Even if its just training, at least it'll keep her occupied while we set up, please?" After about 5 minutes of Ayumi's pestering, Shoto sighed, hanging his head.

"Alright, I'll do it…"

"Yay! Todoroki-kun~!" Ayumi shook his hand vigorously to confirm their deal, Shoto making a face. How did Amajiki handle Ayumi's bubbly, shimmering nature? It was blinding. Emiko looked at Kirishima, who looked excited at the mention of training.

"I think Kiri-chi would be a good training partner for Rizu-nee too…" Emiko added. "I'll supervise her to make sure she doesn't leave before you're all prepared."

"Oh, good idea. That way we have a way to communicate without looking suspicious." Kirishima nodded with a grin. Emiko nodded her head as well.

"Sounds great, Emi~!" Ayumi cheered, hugging her friend. "I'll tell Tama to bring his friends too~! That way it'll be more lively~!"

"More lively than it already is? Frightening." Emiko said as Ayumi swung her around. And so the plans were set. Todoroki and Kirishima would ask Rizusa for a training session. And if Kirishima went, Bakugou would come along for a chance to fight the woman too. He wanted to gauge her power. Ojiro and Midoriya also got volunteered thanks to their hands-on fighting styles. Tokoyami, Shoji, Uraraka, Yaoyorazu, and Minako were in charge of shopping, while Ayumi and the rest of the students would be tasked with preparing the dorm for the party. As class started, Shoto let out a small sigh, trying to focus on the lesson.

* * *

"Sparring…?" The whole room was on edge when Todoroki asked Rizusa about the sparring match on their next day off. "Sure… but why so suddenly?" she asked.

"Oh sparring?!" Kirishima jumped in. "I wanna spar again, Sis!"

"S-sis…" she hid her face, Kirishima laughing.

"I would like to spar too, if that's okay…" Midoriya added. "I really do want to see Dragon Doll in action." He added, trying to contain his excitement.

"Me too." Ojiro stated. "I remember seeing your quirkless brawl match from the UA Sports Festival… I would like to have a match with you as well." He bowed his head, Rizusa seeming a little overwhelmed with all the attention. But she sighed, smiling a little.

"Ahh, alright." She said, everyone's eyes lighting up a little. "I'll do it." Bakugou grumbled, eventually getting pulled into the fray too, since Kirishima insisted on dragging him in. "Oh… Bakugou-kun too?"

"He's a little hot headed but it'll be a good match I think." Kirishima grinned, Bakugou turning to him with that look on his face, calling him stupid, turning back to Rizusa with a wordy, mouth-off challenge before walking away to his room. Rizusa stared at he left, chuckling a little once he was up the stairs.

"I look forward to a good fight, then."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the hideout of the League of Villains, Dabi had pulled Kurogiri aside to have a chat. "A side venture?" Kurogiri asked.

"It has to do with The Four Dragons Conglomerate. I heard from a reliable source that they went to stay at UA." Dabi replied. "However, I also know that an important day to remember is coming up for their leader. She'll leave UA's grounds and be alone for an entire day." He stated. "I want to stoke the fire that another villain started. Strike some fear into those who think that the Conglomerate is untouchable." He added. "Shaking up an old organization's roots is sure to get some attention."

"What will that earn the League of Villains, though?" Kurogiri asked.

"If I do it right, it'll earn a lot of press and break the Conglomerate's leader." He stated simply.

"Do you… know her?"

"Maybe once." He replied. "All I need is to go to a specific place for about 20 minutes that day… that will set it in motion."

"Hmm…" Kurogiri thought it over, wondering if it would benefit their group. Eventually, he nodded. "Alright… so long as nothing else is planned that day at that time, I will send you to wherever it is you need to go." He replied, Dabi nodding his head before turning to walk off.

"Heh… And so we shall meet again, Little miss Dragon."

* * *

((DRAMA TIME. Dabi knows something about Rizusa! What is he planning? Stay tuned to find out!

I watched some fan theories about the MHA universe today, gave me some inspiration. Hope you all like it~

-Winter Cheshire))


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Nightmares

* * *

It was the morning of the party, Rizusa awake at 5am as she stared out at the window. "… Its soon, huh…?" she gripped her sleeve, still feeling herself trembling. She hated those dreams where you wouldn't remember everything; but wake up feeling shaken and scared. This one was the same as always… she couldn't see… couldn't fight back… but the bodies kept falling. Even Shoto's body lay before her. But two members of the family and other groups were distinctly missing. Her parents. It had been so long since she'd seen either one, she barely remembered a thing about either one… they both disappeared a long time ago, never to return home. Her grandfather always looked after her, so she had no real emotional attachment to them… but she didn't know either one or what happened to them. Her grandfather never let her ask, either… She sighed, getting out of bed to go make herself some tea. "I should go visit soon, huh…?" she asked, knowing that she would go whether she wanted to or not. It was so ingrained into her… the last place she saw her parents, a place she revisited year after year on the day she last saw them.

"Rizu-nee…?" Ayumi opened her door and rubbed her eyes. "What're you doing up?"

"Go back to sleep, Ayu…" Rizusa just walked by her friend, knowing she wasn't fully awake. "I just wanted some tea."

"Okay… I'll come help with breakfast… soooon." She yawned out the last bit, rubbing her eyes again before heading back into her room, Rizusa sighing. Ayumi always had this instinct to ask if she was okay… though she did appreciate it, she didn't want her troubling herself. Sure, she was her second hand, but Ayumi had her own things to worry about… everyone in the conglomerate did.

"Ayumi's in the middle of trying to get Tamaki's attention…" she muttered, and in the romantic way too. She didn't want to bother them. Then there was Minako constantly trying to improve herself and study till she dropped, doing everything in her power to be the best doctor she could manage for the conglomerate.

"She has more potential…" she grumbled as she walked down the stairs. And she could be a better doctor for more people by going into training under Pros like Recovery Girl, at least for the informational aspect of things… She made it to the kitchen, putting the kettle on. Then there was Emi…

"Emi needs a more stable work environment." Rizusa sighed, knowing that because of her run in with Gin before, Emi had a fear instilled in her that was hard to shake. If she was working with a support company, it might be safer… easier… less stressful for the girl. She prepared the tea and went to see what she could make for breakfast, catching someone through the window outside. She went to see who it was. She smiled a little, seeing Shoto doing some training on his own, her heart tugging a little.

"No." she told herself. "He needs to be happy…" she turned away a little. "I can't give anyone happiness… I only cause trouble." She told herself, retrieving the tea as the water began to boil. "He wouldn't want someone like me…" she told herself, trying to remain calm. "No… not even that, I'm too old for him." She scolded, putting a hand up to cover her face as she leaned back on the counter. "It would never work…" she shook her head. "Stop wanting what you cannot have, Rizusa… it always ends badly."

* * *

 _Later that morning…_

Ayumi and the others had shooed the five boys and Rizusa off to the training grounds, Aizawa going to supervise since there was nothing much for him to do. Shoto could tell that Rizusa wasn't making any contact with him unless he initiated, so he was unsure if he had done something wrong. "Rizusa-san?" she jumped, looking up at him from tying her laces tighter. "… Are you alright?" he asked, not exactly sure why he was asking. The smile that she gave in response was more of courteous than anything else.

"Yes, just a little nervous… Bakugou-kun seems like the sort of boy to go full in…" she wasn't nervous about that… but Shoto didn't pry. "Even Midoriya-kun too…"

"Yes, they are alike that way." Shoto nodded his head. Why wasn't he trying to figure it out? Was he trying to be polite? No… he knew she wanted him to distance himself. Something was different. What was she afraid of?

"Rizusa-san!" Midoriya and Ojiro approached. "Did you want to decide who to fight first? Or should we draw straws?"

"Ah, no need… judging by what I think I know about you all I have to fight Ojiro-kun first… once I turn Dragon Doll on, its not easy to get them to settle down from sparring match to sparring match." She smiled. "But as for after that… whatever order you boys decide is good with me~" She watched as they all drew straws to decide who went after Ojiro, staring at the ground for a moment again. This wasn't right… what was wrong with her?

* * *

Rizusa heaved a long sigh after the matches, smiling. "Boys, I must say you're all so energetic. I haven't had a good brawl session like that in a long time." All 5 of her opponents lay on the ground, recovering from their matches with her. "Ojiro-kun, your tail martial arts is great… I bet if you worked on your timing a little more you'd have pinned me and knocked me out."

"Th-thank you, Rizusa-san." Ojiro smiled, glad to get the advice.

"Bakugou-kun, you're really skilled in combat… but…" she smiled at the scowl on his face. "Your expression really needs more variety aside from a constant glare…"

"Che… damn woman…" he grumbled, knowing he'd gotten beaten because of skill but she chose not to harp on that.

"And then Kirishima-kun." The red head looked up. "Are you… distracted because you're thinking about someone?" she asked, her smile making Kirishima's eyes go wide as he tried to deny it. He was distracted by Emiko on the sidelines. That made Rizusa happy. "Focus, my boy."

"Yes, Sis!"

"S-sis…" she hid her face, calming down before continuing. "Midoriya-kun, your shoot style is definitely impressive." She pat his head since he was the closest. "And your analytical style works great in theory, but I think your practical application and real combat experience needs more training."

"Yes!" he grinned, appreciating the praise.

"Shoto… you're already really strong, you know." She smiled at him, Shoto looking up at her. "But your techniques are definitely impressive. A little more time and effort in the training and you'll be a most excellent opponent who can put anyone in their place." He stared, nodding his head silently. She was praising him that much? "Now if you're all satisfied with that match, go clean up. We can go have a nice lunch." She added, Emiko going on her phone to message Ayumi that they were almost done here, Ayumi responding with a swift "We're ready for ya!" text. Emiko put her phone away, walking over to Rizusa and tugging on her sleeve.

"Rizu-nee… you should clean up too. You've got some cuts and scrapes."

"Hah, do I?" she asked, sitting down and checking herself over in a mirror Emiko provided her. "Ahh, look at that… you guys did a number on me." She chuckled, Emiko handing her a first aid kit provided by Minako and dressing her minor injuries as the boys went to clean up. "So Emi… do you like him?" She asked after the boys went into the locker rooms and Aizawa had left to go back to sleep. Emiko's red face confirmed that she did indeed like Kirishima. "He's a good boy, Emi… I approve."

"… Rizu-nee… I'm sorry." Emiko looked a little sad, Rizusa turning to her and tilting her head.

"Why are you sorry?" she smiled.

"… Because… I know you're feeling down right now… and seeing someone else find love is…" a hand chopped Emiko over the head, the white haired girl shocked but looking up to see Rizusa still smiling gently.

"Silly Emi." She chuckled. "I'm okay." That was a damn lie, but Rizusa would hold the façade for the others. "I know we're in a big transition period for the conglomerate, stress gets to you and Ayu first… its fine… go have fun. You're all young yet." She ruffled Emiko's hair. "I can handle myself, okay?"

"… Yes, Rizu-nee…"

* * *

Dabi scrolled down his phone screen, reading the information he'd been sent by an informant of the League. Toga tried to look over his shoulder, but she was too short. "Dabi, oi, what are you reading?!" Twice asked, waving his hands around. "You're grinning! No he's not, he's smirking!"

"You must be taking to someone you like a lot, I've never seen you smile!" Toga cooed, making Dabi turn and glare at them both. "Ah…"

"Not even close…" he replied, going back to reading. He then got a report, seeing the message header as "Thousand Blades has-" he opened the link, eyes widening a little. Thousand Blades Gin had torn up the former base of the Four Dragons Conglomerate, searching for them. He was last seen heading towards UA's general direction. "Good." He muttered, putting his phone away. That was just like he wanted… if Gin went after them where he thought he might, Dabi's little venture would be a perfect setup. Setting fear into the leader of the Four Dragons would be much easier if this went well. He got up from his seat, waving his hand.

"Hey where ya going?!"

"For a walk." He stated.

"Maybe he's gonna go meet his lover~?" Toga made kissy face sounds, Twice making some comment after Dabi closed the door and walked away. The scarred man grinning to himself. This was going to work… he knew it.

* * *

"Surprise!" Rizusa's eyes were wide when she opened the door, seeing the students of Class 1-A and her other two supporting conglomerate members and the UA's Big Three grinning and setting off confetti poppers. "Congrats on 1 year!" read the sign above the table, Rizusa feeling her heart hurt a little, but she smiled anyway.

'Please stop congratulating me…' she thought. What was the point. This was an obligation… this was the Ryugazaki's legacy… she never had a say, she just did what she thought everyone else wanted her to. The party was lively and she got to tease the yet to be couples a bit, enjoying the atmosphere… but inside it hurt. All these people congratulating her on something she wasn't even sure she ever wanted… it was agonizing. What would they think if they knew she felt that way, though? So instead she just put up with it, trying to just enjoy the food and company for the rest of the party. At least she could say she had a good time.

* * *

Dabi was in an alley, standing against a wall on his phone. Five days until she'd be out and about on her own… alone… he grinned to himself, staring at the screen. This girl that had stared down all sorts of villains, blown Thousand Blades out of the water as a student… she was still a fragile 19 year old, he knew it. His plan was simple. Catch her interest. Don't cause any harm to her "family", but make it obvious what he was. A villain that was a bad match for her quirk. Scare her, right? But he stopped, thinking about something from a long time ago. He put his phone away and continued walking down the alley, hiding in the shadows. "I don't walk the light anymore… Little Miss Dragon." He chuckled. "I wonder… if you'll recognize me? You always had an uncanny eye for things like that…" he laughed to himself.

* * *

A man carrying three swords and various small knives trudged his way towards where he'd been lead to believe the Four Dragons were now staying. "UA…" he laughed. "That foolish blue dragon thinks she can hide them from me…" he cackled as he walked. It would take a few days, but that was fine. He knew where they were. He'd find a way to catch at least one dragon. "And when I do… I'll cut off its head!"

* * *

Rizusa bolted up from sleep the next morning, a cold sweat dripping down her face. What the hell had that dream been about? But before she could analyze it, it slipped out of her hands like smoke. She cursed to herself, shaking the feeling. She had to keep calm, but she felt so afraid. What was this fear? She just told herself to stop it, going downstairs to get some tea. There were 4 more days until she would wind up back at that place… That memory of standing on the top of those stone steps and staring out at the sky was so calm to her… "That's the last time…" she whispered. She felt a tear slide down her cheek, wiping her eyes and telling herself to stop getting like this. "Emotion is showing weakness… I can't be weak…" she muttered. "I…" she stopped herself, looking at her hands. 'I have a duty to the family… the conglomerate… to Grandfather… to my parents…' she felt no weight to her own words though… not like how she used to. That obligation she had upheld for so long began to slip away. "What am I doing with my life anyway…?" she asked herself softly, sitting in silence until the tea kettle whistled. "I'm not a hero… I'm just a figurehead…"

* * *

((Its been a while sorry for the delay in updates.

I finally found inspiration that made me want to write again! Its been a rough few months so I hope you all like the update and continue to look forward to more~

As always, reviews are nice and I appreciate your support~

Next time: The big reveal! How does Dabi know Rizusa?!

-Winter Cheshire))


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Foggy Encounters

* * *

Today was the day. All of the Conglomerate girls were awake at 5am with Rizusa, but only one would leave the house. "You're going again?" Ayumi asked, Rizusa just sitting and nodding as Minako brewed the tea. "Are you sure? Its dangerous…"

"You say that every year, Ayumi." Rizusa replied, Emiko handing her a plate of breakfast pastries, earning a whispery thank you from the leader of the group. "It'll be alright… you three are safe behind the walls of UA… And I will be home by midnight, I promise…" she smiled, the other three nodding in response. She always refused the company… always refused to let them worry… and always made it home by midnight, like she promised.

"I know…" she sighed, making a pouty face at Rizusa. "Should we have dinner waiting for you?"

"No need…" she shook her head. "You all need to sleep… Aizawa-sensei is going to be asking you all for help over the next couple of days, so don't worry about me. Just focus on helping UA out."

"… Yes, Rizu-nee." Ayumi sat in silence the rest of the time they had tea, once she was ready to leave, they saw her to the door before watching her walk out, her oversized black hoodie with the Conglomerate Emblem on it over her back. The rest of her outfit was black, as per usual. Ayumi stayed at the door until Rizusa was out of sight, sighing and turning to Emiko and Minako as they started cleaning up their dishes.

"You're worried about her still?" Minako asked Ayumi as she began making breakfast.

"Yes… well… she's family… I want to help her but in cases like this you know she doesn't want anyone to see her weaknesses…" Ayumi smiled sadly. "My big sister is always so… stubborn, you know?"

"Yes well… she's also our leader… trusting her with her own limits is fine, isn't it?" Minako asked, Ayumi turning to her friend. "If she really needs us… I think we should trust her to say so."

"I…" Ayumi stared for a moment, but then nodded. "I know I should… but somehow… I feel like something's not right…" she muttered, starting on the food.

* * *

Rizusa was walking on her own, feeling someone following her the whole way. But they didn't approach. They just followed. A stalker? Maybe. She continued walking, taking a few wrong turns and still feeling them following. She sighed, deciding against confrontation and instead choosing to just keep going. She stopped by a shop to grab a can of juice before continuing. They still followed, but she couldn't see anyone in the shop, so she tried to shake it off as just a feeling. She kept walking, soon arriving at the stone staircase. This place was worlds away from the town it sat next to, the upper temple-like area covered in fog. She stared up at it, taking a deep breath and calming herself before heading up the stairs. One step after another, passing all the trees and listening behind her for any footsteps. She heard none.

"Must have been nothing." She muttered to herself. She was almost at the top when she heard something. She stopped two steps short of the top of the stairs, glancing around. The feeling was back, but this was very different. She knew this feeling. Intent to kill. She jumped out of the way as a throwing knife flew out at her from behind a pillar at the top of the stairs. Eyes widening as she saw a long blade coming at her. "Echo!" a green shield protected her, but it was forced back and broken quickly. There standing at the top of the steps, grinning like a maniac was the villain that had attacked her home… tried to kill her Supporting pillar… The man that had left a mark on every member of the conglomerate. Thousand Blades, Gin. A chill ran down her spine, realizing that she was under prepared for hand to hand combat, none of her normal small blades on her. She never brought them to this place. He charged her again, Rizusa barely able to move away as his blade came down on the stairs, leaving a chip in the massive stone blocks.

"Well well, the Blue Dragon! What a prize!" he grinned wider. "And unarmed? Even better. Now you won't be able to fend me off as easily as you did last time!" he cackled, charging her again and slashing at her with his weapons. "I'll finally have a trophy for my case! The head of a dragon!"

"Is that all you're looking for? Well you're going to be disappointed again." Rizusa growled. "I won't lose to you…" she raised her hand and the fog began to clear away, the air becoming almost dry. "Solus… Ludo." Two little dragons appeared at her side, Rizusa seeing Gin charging her again. "Dragon Doll Enchantment!" she jumped above Gin, the man turning to slice at her again. "Sunburst!" the heat and flame emitted from the two made Gin flinch. Rizusa avoided most of the swinging blades and kicked Gin's side, managing to only catch a small cut on her leg. She landed on the stairs, feeling dizzy. What was going on? She paused, realizing that Her leg was going numb. She crumbled to a kneeling position, feeling like she might be sick. "Poison…?"

"Haah, what a silly move. You didn't think I'd have improved since last time?" he grinned, laughing. "What a strong kick… but you still got knicked, my dear." He cackled again, walking over to her. "I have new tricks, little girl." He added, Rizusa feeling too dizzy to stand. She couldn't even call out the names of any of her dolls. Gin approached, dragging his blade on the ground. Rizusa tried to move, but she didn't have any ability to move her legs.

"Bastard…" she managed to choke out, her arms starting to go numb as well. She wanted to fight, but how could she? She felt like she might die… The fear stopped her just as much as the poison.

"Goodbye then… Blue Dragon." Gin raised his sword and prepared to bring it down on Rizusa's neck when a blast of blue flame shot up at Gin, causing him to step back to avoid being charred. Though her vision was blurry, she could see a silhouette walking up the stairs, boots clicking. "What the hell are you doing?!" Gin screamed. The other person didn't speak, another blast of blue flame shooting out at Gin. This continued until finally Gin was caught off guard, the flames catching him from the side. His screams were the last thing Rizusa heard before passing out.

* * *

 _Flashback:_

"Nice to meetcha', Little Miss Dragon." Rizusa turned, staring at the boy behind her. He was a little older than her, but not much. "Ah, sorry… did I scare ya?" he grinned, Rizusa shaking her head.

"No… but um… how did you get in here…?" she asked. This was her courtyard. In her family's complex. How had he gotten in? She hadn't heard of any guests today.

"I snuck in." he smiled. "I wanted to see you for myself."

"Snuck in…? What are you, a ninja?" she asked.

"Maybe." He walked over and sat next to her. "If I'm a ninja, then you're like a princess, hiding away in this castle."

"It's not a castle… its just a complex…" she replied, offering him a senbei. He declined, grinning.

"You always this nice to intruders?"

"You always this chummy with the people you've broken into homes of?" she retorted, making him snort a little.

"Nah, only cute girls like you."

"Geez, you're older than me aren't you?" she pouted. "Don't say stuff like that. Someone might take you seriously." She added, the boy grinning at her.

"Maybe you should take it seriously." He stated.

"… No…"

"No?"

"You wouldn't like me…"

"Oh? You never know, till you try."

 _Flashback End._

* * *

Rizusa sat up, looking around frantically. Where was she? She was at the top of the stairs, seeing the charring from those blue flames… More charring in one specific place. The place where Gin was last standing. Was he dead? Rizusa hoped so… sent to hell, cremated by whoever decided to save her. She was still a little dizzy, but she managed to stand. She glanced at the little building, noting the can of juice she'd bought already sitting on the ledge where offerings could be made. She tried to think, but her dreams slipped away as they had been the last week. All she could remember was that smile… that kid… she remembered that he'd broken in but somehow she didn't really remember how he'd gotten out or how he'd looked. Just that smile… She shook the thought, getting up and bowing her head to the temple before heading back down the stairs. It was late, her phone screen told her almost 11pm. It would take her an hour to get back to UA from here, so she headed straight for the path that she'd walked this morning.

Rizusa let out Ludo, the little dragon's yellow body and bright green eyes looking excited to see her. "Hey kiddo… thanks for earlier." She pet his head, smiling. "Light the path for me?" she asked, earning a nod and a backflip, Ludo's body lighting up like a lantern. He whizzed a little ahead of her, turning back to look at her with a smile and eagerly heading towards where it was darker so he could light up the street for her. "Not too far, Ludo." She called. She was still a little worried, after that encounter with Gin, she would be for a few days. Ludo flitted around and turned a corner, and suddenly his light was overwhelmed by a blue light. "Ludo!?" Rushing around the corner, the girl looked for her dragon doll; eyes widening. She saw the ashes blowing away in the wind. All that was left was one wing, her hand shaking as she picked it up off the ground. She felt tears welling up as the wing disintegrated in her hand. "Ludo…" she felt herself shaking. Someone cremated her dragon doll? Cremated… she turned to see someone standing in the shadows of the alley, smiling at her.

"Hello again." He said, leaning against the wall of the alley, those piercing blue eyes almost glowing in the dim light. "Little miss Dragon."

"What do you achieve by killing my dragon dolls?" she asked, still kneeling but more than ready to fight back if she had to. He smirked, getting up off the wall and taking a step towards her.

"They're just dolls." He stated, shrugging. "It was in my way, so I got rid of it."

"How was it in your way?!" she got to her feet to defend herself, seeing him stop. "What did Ludo do to you?!"

"Oh, how cute… you name them all?" he asked, taking another step towards her. "Little miss Dragon is longing to be a real mother, huh?" he asked, Rizusa standing her ground. "But you won't get anywhere if you stay a lonely hero." He added, Rizusa's eyes widening as he suddenly got right up to her, stopping her hand as she moved to jab him in the stomach. He held her hand, so she couldn't lash out, knowing she wouldn't call any more dolls lest they get burned to a crisp. "I'll show you a good time if you'd like." He added, not moving to attack or douse her in his flames. He noticed her face color, smiling calmly.

"You set my dolls on fire, like hell I'd go anywhere with you." She replied, kicking at him and making her move to get out of his range, but he didn't follow or attack. "What, scared?"

"No… just admiring those black lace undies of yours." He chuckled, Rizusa's face turning even brighter red. "Maybe next time I'll get to see more… see you, Little miss Dragon." He waved, vanishing from sight into the dark alleys. Rizusa was trembling, trying to remain calm. Most people were easy enough to shake off, but that person was somehow different. Was that flirting? Was he being a pervert? She didn't know what to think. But aside from burning Ludo to ashes, he hadn't attacked or hurt her… what the hell was his game? She hurried back, starting a timer on her phone. She now had only 2 hours to remake Ludo before he disappeared entirely. Thankfully for her, her dolls weren't one of a kind. If she recreated them quickly enough after losing them, she could bring them back and they remembered most of what happened.

"That guy… was a really bad match for me." She muttered, hurrying back to UA. He could have killed her. He could have ended her right then and there. But he chose not to… he was certainly no hero, but he wasn't a bad guy… at least not entirely. He'd saved her from Gin, after all. This argument went on in her head the whole way back, the girl rushing past Ayumi who was waiting up for her.

"Rizu-nee…? What's wrong?" Ayumi asked, following the girl back upstairs and into her room. "Rizu-nee?"

"Gin is either in serious condition or dead… and the person who killed him attacked Ludo on the way home."

"What…?" Ayumi sat in the room with her, watching as she pulled materials from the drawers, starting to reconstruct Ludo. "Someone… killed Gin?" She listened as Rizusa explained, still cutting and stitching quickly so that she could get Ludo back in one piece before the timer ran out. She was almost done when Ayumi asked a question. "Who was it…?"

"I don't know… I am going to ask Aizawa-sensei tomorrow, but for now don't talk about it with anyone… especially not Minako and Emiko… you and I are the only ones who know until I find out who hurt Ludo." She pulled the last knot tight, whispering to the little doll and waiting for his eyes to light up. The little Dragon blinked, eyes lighting up and looking up with a smile. "Ludo…" she let the doll nuzzle her cheek. "Sorry… you went through something scary, huh?" she smiled, petting Ludo's head. The timer on her phone went off, but she just shut it off, letting Ludo fly around a little. "Whoever it was, Ayu… they were strong…"

"Got it." Ayumi nodded, hoping that Rizusa would be okay. But this was world-shaking for her. Gin was gone, but a stronger person might be their new enemy… and this person was one of the worst match ups for Rizusa's quirk. Only two dolls in her arsenal could protect against fire, but against a blue flame? That would melt through her defenses in a matter of a minute. "Are you sure you don't want something to eat?" she asked, knowing Rizusa must be hungry since she was out for so long.

"No." she shook her head, letting Ludo go to sleep. "I'm alright." She was too shaken to eat. She had to know who that person was. Ayumi eventually went back to her room to sleep, but Rizusa stayed up, checking around the news sights for information about blue flames. She stopped when she found one article, reading it over. Bodies dropping all over the city… charred beyond recognition… witnesses described blue light… Rizusa took a breath, taking in the name of the suspect.

 **Dabi.**

"So you're the guy…" she muttered, eyes narrowing a little. "Dabi… gotta ask sensei about him…" she closed the screen, laying down and staring at the ceiling, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

((Two chapters in a row? Its been a while since I've done that. Ahaha~

I hope you're all enjoying this. This story will soon come to a close and a new one will start up. It will depend on the choice I make for the story line to continue on. Maybe there will be multiple routes? We shall see.

-Winter Cheshire))


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Dabi's Intent

* * *

"You what?" Aizawa stared at Rizusa standing at the door to the teacher's room. She'd just explained what happened when she went out the day before. "Did you tell anyone else?"

"Just Ayumi…" she replied, still standing there. "Should I go to Nezu?"

"You should have come straight to us, why did you wait?" he had her come into the room, closing the door behind her. The other teachers looked up for a moment, then went back to their own business since Aizawa seemed to have a handle on it.

"I… don't know." She stared at the ground as she walked. "I had to fix Ludo first… that was my priority… Why, is he high profile? Watch list or something?"

"Rizusa…" Aizawa sighed, shaking his head. "He's a member of the League of Villains."

"… He… what?" she stared back at him as he had her sit in a chair next to his desk. "He's part of the League?" Everyone had heard of them by now, they were notorious. All those attacks on UA, the Training Camp incident… "The hell…?" she looked at her hands in her lap, trying to think it all through. Why would the League of Villains member save her from another Villain? Did he just think Gin was "in the way" like he had with Ludo?

"So, he didn't attack you?" Aizawa asked her, Rizusa shaking her head, staring at the ground.

"No… I… Gin came out of nowhere when I went to the temple… I got cut by his blade and he had some sort of paralysis poison coating the blades… so when it cut my leg, I couldn't move… it was fairly immediate… but when I thought he was going to kill me, Dabi…" she paused. "He came up the stairs and stopped Gin from killing me." She added. "He just didn't speak, kept blasting blue fire at him until Gin couldn't keep up and I think it killed him…" she added. "I passed out while he was still caught in the blaze…" she looked up at Aizawa, looking confused. "I woke up… a few steps above where I'd fallen… laying on my back. He must have moved me." She didn't mention that he must've placed her offering on the alter too. Why didn't he just kill her? "He should have… I should be dead, Sensei." She gripped her hands into fists. "He had every chance to just burn me up… and he chose not to…"

"I see… well that's definitely not per his normal…" he put a hand on Rizusa's head. "That also means they might be after you."

"Really…?" she asked. It didn't seem that way to her. If some group like the League wanted to take her, they would have. She'd be there now. But she just sighed, calming herself down.

"For now, I'll relay this to Nezu. Just get some rest." He stated. "Did you go check out those injuries?"

"Minako looked me over this morning, she said nothing was left in my system, so Gin's poison is gone… and I'm not seriously hurt or anything…" she added. "I'll go back to the dorms."

"Alright… just try to stay here as much as possible." He stated. "I know you can defend yourself, but next time they might come in more force." He added, Rizusa nodding her head. But she hated being cooped up, it drove her nuts.

* * *

"Dabi's back~!" Toga grinned, letting the tall man walk past and sit down in their base of operations. "So so, give me the details~" she fluttered around him, grinning. "Did you see your lover? Or at least get to kill anyone?" He didn't even turn to look at her though, staring at the counter. "Heyyyy, you in there?"

"Leave him alone. No way, I wanna know too." Twice walked over, sitting next to Dabi, giving him a thumbs up as he turned to look at the masked man. Dabi just looked at his hands again, not bothering to answer.

 _Flashback:_

Dabi waited until Gin was disintegrated and floating away on the wind as ashes before turning to look at Rizusa. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and muttering to himself before picking her up and laying her down on the top step far enough in so she wouldn't roll to her death in her sleep. He felt something heavy in her pocket, pulling it out to see that it was a can of juice. 'Geez, you still do this?' he thought, getting up and placing it on the alter's offering ledge. He then moved to sit next to her and ran his fingers through her hair a little, clearing away the soot that was left by his quirk.

"You're too vulnerable…" he added, scolding her even though she couldn't hear him. "If I wanted to hurt you, it would be all too easy." He added, still playing with her hair for a while. He spent the rest of the afternoon like that, and surprisingly there weren't any interruptions. Had no one noticed the fight? Not that he was surprised, the fog around here was thicker than anything he'd ever seen. He decided after a few hours that it was boring for him to wait around forever. Plus if she woke up, it might be bad. "Well, hope you wake up soon, Little Miss Dragon." He said, pausing to run his fingers across her lips, smiling. "Don't let anyone else get the better of you…" he leaned in and planted a soft peck on her forehead. "I'm the only one who gets to do that." He got up and began walking away, wondering how she'd react if he kissed her while she was awake. He shook his head, scolding himself.

"Can't get too comfortable… she isn't mine yet." He added. "I gotta woo her first, right?" he scoffed. "I can't believe the old man's actions actually let me find something good." He just kept walking, leaving her to wake alone on the top of the steps.

 _Flashback End._

Dabi left the hideout again to wander the streets in the shadows of alleys, trying to figure things out. He was sure his intent had been to strike fear in her, sure that had been done by burning her little doll to a crisp. But… somehow… he wanted something else that hadn't become clear until Gin was out of the way. She'd grown up to be quite the woman. He'd always kinda seen her on the news and at a distance, but until you got up close it wasn't nearly so obvious. She was his type too… he grumbled to himself, trying to think. Did he still want to scare her? Or was his aim different now? He thought about it, telling himself that she was a hero… that it wouldn't work if she stayed in the profession. Maybe that was why he'd teased her so much? Because he knew it wouldn't work. But still, he thought about it.

"I'll show you a good time… man, I must sound so creepy…" he complained as he walked. "If only… she wasn't a hero…" he paused, seeing his reflection in a broken mirror next to a dumpster. No… she'd never want him. "She said something once too…" he chuckled. "That I'd never want her… hah, what a twist…" he just kept walking. He wanted her… that was it… he wanted her in every sense. And if he couldn't have her, then he'd just let loose to vent his anger. Maybe kill a bunch of useless villains or go hero hunting. It was just that simple. But wooing a hero while she stayed at UA… that was dangerous. Too dangerous. How would he get her alone outside the school after what happened? Since the League was supposed to be laying low, he knew causing a big scene wasn't going to fly. He kept thinking about it but he didn't know how to go about it. He stopped near a mall, stopping to glance around as he needed ideas. And then he saw it. A stationary store.

* * *

"An envelope and letter paper…? Yes, I have some." Toga nodded, surprised by the request. "Ah! Are you going to write a letter to your lover?" she grinned, waving her arms around. "You're so old school, omigosh!" she laughed, grinning. She went to get him what he asked from her bag, handing him a cute pen to write with as well and leaning over the counter while trying to read as he wrote. "So, so, why the letter? Didn't you just see her? Did you promise to write her something?"

"Shut up." He grumbled, just jotting down a time and place away from Toga's prying eyes, signing it "Your Secret Admirer". Sure it was corny as hell, but at least it might peak her interest. Maybe she'd at least come see who it was. Hopefully. He sealed the letter and put a stolen stamp on it. He stuck it in his pocket and went to go drop it off without being seen, waiting by the mail until it was picked up by the carrier. Once it was, he went back to wandering the streets.

"Hope you like corny stuff, Little Miss Dragon." He muttered, sighing a moment later.

* * *

The next day, Rizusa was sitting in her room, reading over some news articles and checking information on Dabi that Aizawa had given her when she heard a knock at her door. It was Shoto. "Yes?"

"A letter came for you." He handed it to her, letting her accept it before letting go. He wanted to ask how she was, but he knew she'd just say "I'm fine" like she did with everyone else. "Did your cut heal up?" he asked.

"Yes, Minako's a very good doctor." She smiled. "And thank you for the letter… Is… something bothering you?" she asked, Shoto shaking his head. "Are you sure?" she asked again. He paused, looking up at her.

"I think so…" he nodded, earning a smile.

"Well if you're sure… but if you want to talk, I'm always open to the idea. Ne?" she pat his head. "Thanks again for delivering this." She held the letter in her hand.

"No problem." He nodded, turning away and heading off. Rizusa smiled, then closed her door again and went to sit and read the letter. Her eyes went wide as she scanned the page, blush coating her cheeks. A secret admirer? It was corny as hell, but it still got to Rizusa. She wondered who it was, sighing a little and folding the letter back up, face reddening further. What had she gone and done to earn an admirer who would write a letter? "The 9th, Midnight huh…? And at the old base none the less…" she laid back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. Was she curious enough to go? But what if it was a trap? She couldn't imagine what that would be like. "Well… I have a couple days." She told herself, noting that it was only the 7th. "I'll think about it." She told herself.

* * *

IMPORTANT! PLEASE DON'T SKIP THIS END BIT!

Okay readers, so here's your choice!

This section of the story is over, now we move on to the two divergent routes, does Rizusa go to the meeting? Or does she stay safely at UA?

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Done choosing? Okay, here's your Route Options!

If Rizusa decided not to go to the meeting, too wound up about being attacked or being taken away by the League, you have chosen Shoto Todoroki's Route with Rizusa, **Four Dragons - Rising**

If Rizusa does decide to go, too curious for her own good, you have chosen Dabi's Route with Rizusa, **Four Dragons – Fallen**

Please look forward to upcoming chapters in the new separate routes, I'll do my best to keep up with updates for them.

-Winter Cheshire


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